No Lack: Psalm 23:1
Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash
Famous passages in the Bible are famous for a reason. Few are more memorized than Psalm 23:1: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (ESV). Let's express that thought in a few different ways. Since God is my shepherd:
I do not lack.
I will not be lacking.
I have what I need.
When I need something I'll have it.
What I need, I'll have when I need it.
My needs are anticipated by God perfectly.
God claims to be a shepherd. He designed sheep in his creation to be looked after by a human being. Nobody has said, "You know, God is kinda like a shepherd," hoping their analogy is pretty accurate. Rather, God himself has said, "What you see in a good shepherd doing his job, see that in me."
And it's a metaphor of course. We don't need green pastures or still waters or a comforting rod and staff. Rather, we need things like those, the providence and protection that a shepherd provides. God metaphorically leads us to green pastures and peaceful waters, metaphorically directs us through gloomy dark valleys inhabited by jackals and wolves.
Therefore, we are taught by God himself that he will provide for us like a shepherd does sheep. As sheep need grass and water and rest, so you and I need provision. As things change, as circumstances go differently than we expected, we need someone who can see ahead, someone wiser and more capable, someone who knows where the good things are, someone who understands us, understands how far we can go and how far we cannot. And that is God.
As sheep need protection and comfort in their gloomier travels, so you and I need protection. We don't face wolves and jackals. We face a world that is changing all around us and does not always want a Christian to be in their midst. We face individuals who are thinking selfishly, planning to use or manipulate us. We face illness, disasters, inflation, unemployment, broken promises, grudges, hurts. And in those times, we need someone who is stronger than us, who can shield us, who can equip us, who can change hearts we cannot access, who can explain our own emotions to us, someone who can take away our fears, and thereby, take away our need to retaliate in self-defense or preemptive strike. And that is God.
And so, like a sheep, look to God to shepherd you in the face of these things. For the one who puts all hope in God's Son Jesus Christ, God is Father. The Lord is your Shepherd; because of that, you will not be lacking.