One thing that I will never lack . . .

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1)

This morning I read Nehemiah 9. Most of it is a prayer that reviews all that God had done for His people and they were expressing their gratitude to Him. So I was thinking about His blessings on my life as I opened the Bible to Psalm 23.

Verse 1 says “. . . I shall not want.” I tend to interpret this as a declaration of contentment because the Shepherd has taken care of all David’s wants. But I also know there is a difference between having all we want, and wanting all we have, between desire and satisfaction.

Then I read the devotional author’s remarks. He said that this verse is not about having everything or even being content. It goes deeper than physical and material blessings. At the time David wrote it, he was deprived, hunted by his enemies and deserted by many supporters. His life was full of discomfort and insecurity. He lived on the run and off the land, without physical possessions, home and family. His words in verse 1 are not about wanting or even about what he lacked. It is about his relationship to the Lord and it could read, “No matter what hardships come my way, I am confident that I will never lack the expert and tender care of my Shepherd . . .”

David was not focused on the stuff God gives, but about His care. He was not praising God for being without needs, but for having a supply that never fails and will carry him through both plenty and poverty.

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:10–11)

I cannot be self-focused in this. I might have all the stuff I need, all the friends, and comforts of life, at least at the moment, but this is not true for every Christian.

Hebrews 11:36–38 says some “suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

God’s people do suffer emptiness and insecurity, or even worse. We can also experience physical and material need and deeply feel our need. What David is saying is that he never felt abandoned by God, His Shepherd who watches over him. Jesus repeated David’s thoughts this way . . .

 . . . Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on . . . Look at the birds . . . Consider the lilies . . . do not be anxious . . .  your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you . . . (Matthew 6:25–34)

God promises to take care of His people. I can rest in that promise, but must also watch that I am satisfied with His care. I could always want more (and am prone to do that) or even be fearful someone will take from me what I already have.

However, the thought of “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” is like the confidence expressed in Hebrews 13:5-6: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”

No matter what else I might lack, I will never lack the loving care of the Good Shepherd.

Growing without grumbling

A few years ago, as a grandmother in seminary, I had one of the younger students playfully ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told him, “a sweet little old lady,” however, that goal is being modified. I’m back in seminary, but I’ve never left God’s school of learning…

Yesterday I wanted something sweet so had a piece of cake. After eating it, it sat like a rock in my stomach and I didn’t feel well for several hours. My sweet tooth has done this to me before, but I’m a slow learner. A small piece of dried fruit would have been a better choice. Today I will pitch the rest of that cake in the garbage.

Interesting that God should use that experience and this text to put my mind on the folly of wanting something that isn’t good for me, and for not being satisfied with what He does supply. This is not just about food.

He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. But they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. (Psalm 78:15–18)

The Israelites were taken from slavery and on a journey to the land God promised them. They should have been grateful for His care and provision, but they grumbled about everything. They complained they would die of thirst and He gave them unlimited water out of a rock. They complained about their food and He gave them more than they could eat. That made them sick and some even died.

I can relate to their grumbling and dissatisfaction. I can relate to their lack of gratitude over the blessings of God. I understand both their rebellion and their testing. In my selfish pickiness, I have wanted something else, not what He thought best, but what I thought better, as if I know better than God?

Faith says that God knows what He is doing. Faith believes that His providential care is designed for my greatest possible benefit and that all God orders for me is His best on the menu for my needs. It will not only feed and sustain me, but also result in the most good in my life. Faith sees His wisdom and is grateful, even if what He ordains for me at first does not seem to fit my idea of good.

This is fundamental. Only children (in life and in the family of God) stamp their feet and say, “I don’t want that. Give me…. instead.” Maturity recognizes that our Father God is not being cruel or thoughtless in His supply. He wants the best for His children.

My mother used to say of the weather, “We must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” Her wisdom about that which God ordains applies to all of life. God is able to use all things for good, as Romans 8:28 says, and that ‘good’ is His power to put items on my plate and then use them to shape me into the image of His Son. Instead of stamping my feet and testing Him in my heart, I should always be seeking how I can conform to His will. Instead of being content to be a “sweet little old lady,” God wants more than that. He wants me to be a reflection of Jesus Christ. I need to be grateful and more cooperative for He knows how to supply, carve and polish much better than I do.

Needs vs. Wants

Everyone has been admonished about the difference between needs and wants. Either father or mother or someone important shook their finger and said, “You might want it, but do you need it?”

I heard a sermon awhile ago about this difference. It used Philippians 4:19, which says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

This well-known verse is often used to encourage those who are in need, but the sermon looked at it from a different angle. The preacher said that we have no clue (most of the time) of what we need. Besides that, God’s idea of our biggest need might not be our idea. He is at work to shape His people into the likeness of Christ. The ‘tools’ necessary for that shaping might not align with our idea of what should be happening to us. In other words, what we want might not be what we need.

I agree. I might sense a need for patience. I hope God will zap me with it, but to answer that need, He sends tribulation because, according to Romans 5:3 and James 1:2-3, trials and tribulation produce patience. I don’t want that, but I do need the patience it produces.

In my mind, I might need more time; in God’s mind, I may need better time-managing skills, or the ability to say ‘no,’ or to reorganize my priorities, or my need might be something else altogether. God can use the pressures of having too much on my plate to shape in me a character trait that I need but hasn’t entered my mind.

That sermon was good, thought-provoking and helpful. It fit in with something my mother used to say, “We must need it, or we wouldn’t be getting it.” God knows all about me. I can trust Him with what is going on, because He promises to supply both needs and wants.

However, as much as I agree with this sermon, and with the idea of a sovereign God controlling the issues of my life according to what will best shape me into the image of His Son, I don’t agree that Philippians 4:19 says this. The phrase, “great sermon, wrong text” comes to mind.

The verses in chapter 4 before this verse are about Paul being in dire circumstances. The church at Philippi sent him a gift to take care of his need. He expressed gratitude for it, not so much that he worried about himself, but that he was glad to see the virtue of generosity in them. He mentioned that he had learned contentment, then added, “Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.”

He goes on to talk about how no other church shared with him “concerning giving and receiving” and he complimented their sacrifice on his behalf. While money is not mentioned, the Greek words used in this phrase are “account, expenditures and receipts.” Paul was also well aware that their giving depleted their own supply, so added that God would “supply all their need” in proportion to His great riches. They could count on Him to take care of them.

The verse is not about God’s control over the circumstances we need to shape us into Christ’s likeness; it is about material need, including money. It is an assurance that no matter how generous we give, God is able to supply whatever we might lack because of it. It is a verse that makes putting a generous chunk of money in the offering plate an act of faith. I can give to meet the need of someone else because I know that God will take care of me.

I also know that God will put stuff into my life to shape me into the image of His Son, stuff needed to whack off all that does not look like Jesus. I both need and want that, but the promise of it happening is not from this great verse, but from other parts of the Bible!