I. Lack. Nothing. (Psalm 29:1)

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." (NIV)

I. Lack. Nothing.

I’m sure, if I asked you, there would be 100 things you could list that you don’t have (that you’d like to have). Most of them are things you would insist you really need. Same with me. In order to make my life "perfect," if someone gave me the opportunity, I know I could come up with that kind of list.

Or could I?

As a Christian I need to remember that God’s Word is a Truth beyond the truth of this reality. I need to remember that if God has said it, then I need to embrace it. And so, if I truly believe that God is my shepherd, then perhaps I really don’t need anything He hasn’t already provided. So what can I learn from this sentence?

This sentence from Psalm 23 is both a promise and a statement of faith. The promise: If the Lord is my shepherd, then I will lack nothing. God has promised to make all things work together for my good. He has promised to take care of my daily needs. He has promised to take me home to Heaven. If the Lord is indeed my shepherd----if I have embraced Him as my Lord and Savior and submitted my life to His care----then He will indeed give me everything that I need and I will live a life that lacks nothing. Whatever I "think" I need, I can petition Him in prayer and He will take care of it perfectly and completely by either providing it or teaching me how I didn’t really need it in the first place.

The statement of faith: Because the Lord is my shepherd, I know that I lack nothing. I truly believe scripture and utterly trust the Lord in His provisions, His mercy, and His generosity. He knows me better than I know myself. Thus, if He doesn’t provide, I never needed it. I only "thought" I did. His provision is perfect and He provides whatever I need on a daily basis.

What does the Lord provide?

* Green pastures: He places me in situations and circumstances where I have the opportunity to grow spiritually and to mature as He directs.

* Quiet waters: Even the very basic needs of my soul and body He provides including the living water of life that satisfies every need.

* Right paths: Ever wonder what you’re supposed to do, particularly at those big junctions of life? I constantly second-guess myself, but I can trust that if I pray and am willing to follow any direction where He leads, He will lead me into the right path for He can see long ahead.

* No fear: I don’t even have to fear evil, for He is with me. This is huge for me because I’ve suffered from anxiety disorder my entire life. I often feel that the "monsters" are lurking under the bed or around the corner. But I can trust Him, in prayer and faith, to be with me and to disperse any evil that tries to beset me.

* Comfort: His very Holy Spirit that lives within me is a constant comfort, even during the times I feel so out of control, even during the nighttime when my dreams take over.

The psalm continues with this: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" (v. 5). You know how I see this? It’s like going to a business meeting and the president of the company sits down right next to me and says, "Hi. I’m your new BFF. Anything you want? I’ll do that for you." (Of course, in my case, it would be the school superintendent, but you get my drift.) Can you imagine what that would be like? But in reality that is our daily lives because the Lord of creation Himself prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. He does this to say that we belong to Him and everybody else needs to back off! He’s our defender, our advocate, our protector.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

The psalmist concludes with this: "Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life" (this life) and "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (there is a happily ever after). Yup! Pretty good stuff . . . if . . . we trust God and embrace Him as our Shepherd. We get to have His goodness and love for all the days of this life and we get to live in His house after this life! Really good stuff!

© 2017 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.