The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1
Last week I wrote on the shepherd. Today I want to write about his strength of fulfillment. David said, “I shall not want.” Wait, did not the scripture declare God would give you the desires of your heart and supply your needs according to His riches in glory? Then what is this “I shall not want”?
A desire is something you meditate on, a thing you are willing to reach for and work for. A need is something you need for existence, but a want is neither. It is not the thing you desire enough to work for, neither do you need it, but yet you want it.
This warrior desires a way of escape. He needs the anointing and a cup that never runs dry, and God supplied them all. Yet, he says, “I shall not want.” There are things David wanted, sure, but he declares God will fix my want.
How many of us lose sight of our desires and needs because of our wants? Paul declares he learned contentment. Do you realize how much unhappiness lies in our wants? How much time do we waste waiting on our want to come to us when we could be reaching for our desires and attaining our needs?
What David was saying is God has made it to where I can live outside of want. David has been anointed to be King, and yet the man he is to succeed is in pursuit of him. In spite of his circumstance, David said I am not in want.
You too can come to a place in the Shepherd where you live without want. There is a place you can reach where happiness does not come from gifts, praise, or applause. It comes from true contentment of a relationship with the Shepherd.
Our prayer for you this week: May you come to the place of true happiness in Christ, a life of no want.
