The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. — Psalm 23:1
Have you ever had something come up in life that you wanted? I’m not talking about something that is a need, but something that you really wanted. Maybe it was a house, a car, a boat, or something similar. Maybe it was nicer than the one you had, had more features, or other things.
Sometimes when this happens, people are willing to go to extremes to get what they want. I know many times as a kid I offered to wash cars and do other house chores in order to get what I wanted. Many people have taken part-time jobs to afford new houses and cars. The truth of the matter is that human nature is to struggle with being content.
These words of David in Psalm 23 are some of the most popular in the Bible. They are often quoted for comfort in times of distress and grief. Many people know the entire Psalm by heart, but do we truly understand what David is saying in the very first verse?
David says that God is his shepherd and that he shall not want. David says that God is the one that is ultimately responsible for all aspects of his life. God provides, cares, and controls all the things about his life. David says that because God is in control, he has all that he could ever need. What an amazing statement of contentment!
Is that to say David never struggled with being content? Absolutely not. You can simply read the story of David and Bathsheba and learn how David had desires. The idea shared here is that there is absolutely nothing in life that we could ever need that God does not provide. While our human nature may have desires, we have all that we could ever need in God.
It’s so easy to get distracted by the nice shiny things in life. We often let our human nature get the best of us and want so many things. As you reflect today, reflect on what God has done for you and what He has provided. Our prayer today should be that God would help us be completely content in Him.
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