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“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.“
What is it that I want?
At first glance, I suppose I could start with world peace, violence to cease, that every life be respected and cared for, that food shortages be replaced with plenty, that diseases be cured, that hearts be healed, that families love well, and that people would encounter the unfathomable love of God the Father.
That’s my tall order.
But I think we’ll go down a different path today—the path of contentment. It seems I wrote about this not too long ago, so perhaps the Lord has more to teach me.
“I shall not want…”
I don’t need a thing.
There is nothing I lack.
I have all that I need.
As W. Phillip Keller writes in A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23: Discovering God’s Love for You:
“The idea of being utterly contented in the Good Shepherd’s care and consequently not craving or desiring anything more.”
What if what I have is all I need?
And yet, if I’m honest, I can quickly list many things I think I need.
The Hebrew word behind, I shall not want, carries a deeper meaning than simple satisfaction. One lexicon notes that it “exposes the human condition of insufficiency while simultaneously magnifying the Lord’s sufficiency and faithfulness.” We are people who think we lack—but with the Shepherd, nothing is lacking.
What is it that the Good Shepherd has to offer?
Sufficiency.
Restoration.
Stillness.
Healing.
Peace.
Guidance.
Courage.
Comfort.
Companionship.
Nourishment.
Goodness.
Mercy.
Shelter
Presence.
Love.
Would we be willing to trade the needs we think we have for the gifts the Shepherd offers?
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6)
