Psalm 23:1-2

“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.” (NKJV)

He leads me. I wonder? Do I follow? Or do I expect the Lord Jesus to follow me and bless the things that I choose?

We got an opportunity to see a flock of sheep alongside the road the other day. The little ones were running after their mothers and all the sheep were quietly eating under the watchful eye of their shepherd. They had complete trust that they were fine and that the grass provided was good for them.

They trusted their shepherd. Do I?

There is something very simple and yet very difficult in the statement: The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. It is almost an if-then statement. If I allow the Lord to be my Shepherd, I shall not want. So, if I don’t allow the Lord to be my Shepherd, what then? I think about the many times that I’ve gotten myself into a bigger mess than I can deal with. Suddenly I find myself crying out for God to save me. Likely He’s shaking His head, wondering why I didn’t follow Him long ago. How many times has He bailed me out, only to find that I’m too stubborn to learn from my own mistakes and choosing my own way again?

He leads me beside the still waters.

There are so many times in my life that I’ve been attracted to that which is turbulent and frenetic, only to find that I’m unhappy and discontented. Then I long for the stillness, the quietness of peace. And I go back seeking for the Shepherd. How old will I be before I learn to simply seek His way rather than my own?

I shall not want.

So much of my discontent is about what I don’t have, much of which I likely don’t need. As my husband and I have—like many in America—learned to readjust our lives as a result of downsizing, outsourcing, and reduced lifestyles, I’m learning that there is so little that I really need: His love, His salvation, His presence. Everything else is so little and often so unnecessary. If only I could learn to be content with what is important and leave everything else behind.

This year, as I look toward Advent, I want to learn how to be content with the treasures in heaven that last.

© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.