Psalm 23:1

“The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want…” Although this statement is only four words in the original Hebrew, so much is said in it. The LORD, Yahweh, God’s personal name given by Him to Moses out of the burning bush, means I AM WHO I AM. He is the self-existing One, who has neither a beginning nor an end. He exists outside of the constructs of time and space. He IS and always will be, the Alpha and Omega, forever loving, forever just, forever faithful.

“…is my shepherd…” What joy and peace it is to know that the Everlasting God, the Great I AM Himself, is my shepherd. How is it that the God of the universe called me to be His sheep? I don’t know, but I do know that He cares for me, leads me, feeds me …. Everything I need He supplies because He knows better than I do what I need. Therefore, I can rest securely in His compassionate care.

“…I shall not want.” The word “want” is chaser in Hebrew. It means to lack, need, be lacking, decrease, according to BibleHub.com. Because He is my shepherd, there is nothing that I need or lack. I am completely sustained by His benevolence and love. I do not need to want anything.

Sometimes, when our lives feel empty and we do feel like we lack—a job, a reliable car, a spouse, good health—it’s easy to believe that our Good Shepherd doesn’t care. It’s easy to think that He’s up there looking down at us with displeasure written across His face. But the Good Shepherd is never absent from the life of His sheep. The Good Shepherd is always with them, walking beside them, leading them personally. He knows that the field of grass where we long to eat is filled with poisonous plants that will make us sick and in love He says no, He is keeping us from pain and poison. Perhaps the water where we long to drink is too swift for us, and He knows that we will drown, so He leads us away from it to a tiny pool where we are safe.

Oh, Good Shepherd, thank You that You have called us to be Your sheep. What a privilege it is to know that we belong to You. Thank You that as Your sheep we do not need to fear because with You we lack nothing, even when at times it feels like we do. Please help us to rest in Your love, rest in Your current provision, and rest in Your power to provide, knowing that with You we "shall not want.” Amen