The Lord is Our Good Shepherd! (Part2)

(Overcomer Wu)

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” --Psalms 23:1

"I Shall Not Want"

What the Scriptures revealed to us about God calls for a corresponding response in our lives. In this case, we need to learn to live our lives in light of God as our Shepherd, and adjust our lives accordingly. What are the implications of "The Lord is my Shepherd?” What is the appropriate response? Let me suggest two implications and they are found in the next phrase: "I shall not want.” I see two angles that have brought me great encouragement.

Firstly, with the Lord is our Shepherd, He assured us that we shall not be in want. That means, when we depend and lean on Him as our Shepherd, we will always have everything that we need; maybe not everything that we want, maybe not everything that I think we need, but we will always have everything that God knows we need. A shepherd assumes full responsibility for the care of his sheep. He is committed to meet their needs great or small. It is his job not only to feed them, protect them, but even to clean them up and bring them to a place where they can rest comfortably. It is my Shepherd’s job to meet our needs and His Word promised that He will: “I shall not want.” Jehovah God, the possessor of heaven and earth, Himself is my Shepherd. Do you think that the Creator and Possessor of all things not only on the earth but in the universe has enough resources to meet my needs? Does He have enough to meet yours? Without a doubt, He can meet all our needs superabundantly above all that we can ask or think. If you have the Lord as your Shepherd, you lack nothing. Every scrutinizing detail of your life is under His control, protection, and direction.

Praise the Lord for the surety and the security that is promised us in this verse alone of this Psalm: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!” I shall not want now or in the coming days; I shall not want in good times or bad times, in joy or in sorrow, in famine or in abundance. Everything that I ever need He has promised to meet – our course in His own way. There are times when we feel very uncertain about the future when economy looks like it's about to plunge into recession, and the job security is always in question, or our health seems like it could turn for worse anytime. None of us know what is going to happen down the road, around the bend, in a few years or even in a few days if there should an accident or an unforeseen event that might occur in our lives. Yet we can rest assured that we will have everything that we need because the Lord is our Shepherd. we shall not want!

Consider how God sent ravens to feed Elijah and when that situation changed, God sent him to a widow, a widow who was herself poverty-stricken, to feed him. What an unlikely sources of provision, but God can do the impossible! If God needs to send ravens to feed you when you're jobless or your retirement funds run out, He can do that! We have all seen this happen in our own lives and with others. We need to remind ourselves, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not [be in] want.” Thank the Lord that with God as our Shepherd, we will always have everything that we need! And it is His responsibility to see to our needs; thus, we need never to be anxious.

Secondly, there is another implication with the clause "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” not only will I have everything I need because He has promised to be my Provider, but because He is my Shepherd, I will choose to be content with what He has provided. Since our provision comes from God, then there is no room for anxiety, complaining, or discontent. How can I respond with dissatisfaction, fear, anxiety, or depression if I really believe in my heart that I have and will have everything that I need because God is my Shepherd? In saying “I shall not want,” The Psalmist is essentially saying, "I will choose to be content with what I have, what the Lord has provided before me, knowing that He knows what I need and provides what's best for me as I am depending on Him as my Shepherd and follow Him wherever He leads."

"I shall not want" is a statement of faith. It’s a statement of faith when you can’t see the Shepherd and when you can't see what's around the corner or what tomorrow may bring. That requires tremendous faith. If we can see the Shepherd we don’t need faith. Yet the Lord wants to develop and grow our faith in Him. “For we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). It is in times that we can’t see not only the Shepherd but also what lies ahead in our future, the Psalmist still says, "The Lord is my Shepherd, [by faith I know] I shall not want.” We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow (our Shepherd-Lord) and we know that we can fully trust the Shepherd’s loving and caring heart for us. Thus, there is no need for us to fear or be anxious about tomorrow. With the Lord as our Shepherd, we are safe, secure, and all our needs are met in Him!

You may be thinking, but it seems that my needs are not met adequately. We can’t pay our bills. We don't have medical insurance, we can't afford the medications we need, etc.. What about Christians in poverty-stricken areas of the world or in some war-torn countries? Can they say, "I shall not want?” Well when the Apostle Paul was in prison, under the worst and dire circumstances, could still say, "I shall not want?” In Philippians chapter 4, Paul is writing from a jail cell – certainly not a comfortable or well-provided place, yet with God sitting there as his Shepherd caring for him there, he can say, "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phi 4:11-13), and later in verses 18 and 19 he says, "Indeed, I have all and abound, I am full .... and my God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Sometimes we need to be reminded that if we have Christ we are rich. Do we not believe that He is the greatest treasure in all the universe (2 Cor 4:7)? We need to learn, as Paul did, to find our true contentment and our riches in Christ, and contentment with whatever He has supplied us at the moment. The fact of the matter is that if you look to worldly riches and material goods for your contentment, you will never be content even if you are making billions of dollars, because the fallen human nature is always wanting more and more and more. Besides some good, mature Christians, I've never met anyone who says they're happy with their current salary, or that they do not wish to get a bigger house or buy a nicer car, or move to a better area. The secret of our contentment is founded in Christ alone!

We're told in 1 Kings 17 that there was a famine in the land and the prophet Elijah was sent by God to the brook to get water when there was very little water in the land, and there is where God sent ravens to feed him. Verse 7 says, "And after a while the brook dried up….” Has your brook dried up? You say, "There is nothing in the bank, there is nothing to draw from; I have no strength left even to work; I have no resources left." Elijah’s brook dried up, and God is the one who let it dry up. So what did Elijah do? Did he become desperate and panic? I believe that he continued to trust in God under those seemingly hopeless circumstances. Therefore, the very next verse says: "Then the word of the Lord came to [Elijah]: Go at once to Zarephath…I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” God did not show him the next step until the brook dried up. That is usually the case when we are living and walking by faith. Just as Abraham was called out of Ur of Chaldee not knowing where he was going, but simply following step by step wherever God led him. You say, "I am waiting for the word of the Lord to show me the next step!" Maybe your brook is not all the way dried up yet or maybe you have not fully put your trust in Him. If you are, the Lord will surely show you what to do next or where His provision is waiting for you. Thank the Lord that God knows all our needs and He is watching over us. "No good thing will He withhold from those whose walk is upright” (Psa 84:11). Praise the Lord that with Christ as our Good Shepherd, we shall not want!