Daily Devotion 7/6/10

Psalm 23
1The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

There are some powerful observations from these nine memorable words from the Psalms.
The Lord is the one, true and living God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

There is no doubt who David is referring to as “The Lord”. In this day and age of ideas about who and what God is and anyone’s version of God is acceptable, there are gods, forces and other mystical beings that people refer to as “god”. David, however, makes no mistake and leaves no room for personal interpretation regarding who he writes about.

Secondly, a shepherd’s job was to care for the sheep. He was to love, feed and protect them. Sheep are notoriously stupid animals. The Bible refers to mankind often as sheep. Here God is referred to as our shepherd, implying that not only are we foolish wayward people, but also that God loves us and cares for us like a shepherd would his sheep.

If you’re like me, then you are prone to forget that God cares more for you than the sparrows, but He still provides for all of their needs. I can so easily take my focus off of the God who provides and onto the “things” He does provide for comfort. Kind of proves David’s point about us being sheep.

Stories are told of how a shepherd would provide comfort and shelter at night for his sheep, warding off animals that would feed on lambs. Not like a hired hand that would run at the first sight of trouble. How great our God is to His “sheep” (John 10:27-29), protecting us, caring for us and showing us tender love, even when we wander off and need rescuing.

The last phrase is so explanatory. Because God is our shepherd, we shall not want. The passage emphasizes the character and power of God as the reason why the writer has no need for want. I shall not want….all my needs will be provided for because “The Lord” is my shepherd and not some other person. I will never be longing for something that cannot be provided.

This promise is reiterated in Paul’s epistle to the Philippians when he writes in 4:19 “My God shall supply all your need…” another promise for His sheep not to want. But how can He make such a promise? Paul finishes the verse, “…according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The implication is that God has infinite resources. He can provide for us in such a way that we will never be in need because He has an infinite supply to draw from: Himself!

Are you trusting the True shepherd?

What do you want for?