Psalm 23

            “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

            So goes the first verse of Psalm 23. It’s been an unbelievable comfort for me recently. My life isn’t hard by any means, but when I’m drained and worried and irritated and everything else, this verse comes to me like a bug to light.

            Okay, that wasn’t very poetic.

            “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

            As I’m nearing graduation, what am I going to do? I want to be a pastor, but is that going to happen? What do I do for the four years before seminary? Where will I go?

            “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

            I’m tired and my work is getting on my nerves. The customers drive me crazy and I’m supposed to serve them with a smile? Like, as if I don’t want to eat the food I’m serving them?

            “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

            If the Lord is my shepherd, I am a sheep. If you’ve ever been on a farm with sheep for a little bit, you’d understand the same thing David did. Sheep are completely and utterly dependent on the shepherd. They can’t defend themselves. They can’t lead themselves. If their brains disappeared, they would probably get smarter.

            “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

            While the last part is often the focus (not desiring anything), that’s not actually the point. It’s the “why” behind the “what” that matters in this case. You don’t desire anything because the Lord is everything.

            “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

            The Lord is the focus of the verse. When I’m worried and irritated, I’m not letting God be my guide. I want something He isn’t leading me to at the moment. I want clarity. I want reasons. I want plans (or maybe a change of plans). But often He doesn’t allow me those things right away. I forget that as my shepherd, He is my everything.

            The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

            He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

            He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

            Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

            You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

            Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (NKJV)