“The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”-Psalms 23:1
If the Lord is my shepherd I will want for nothing. In some cases, the word want and lack can be used interchangeably; simply because if you have want for something then you obviously lack it. Example: if you want a drink of water then you lack water. What God has blessed me with this week is the thought: IF the Lord is my shepherd I will want for nothing.
I believe, as I am sure many others do as well, that the Master chose his analogies very carefully. Personally the shepherd/sheep relationship is one of my favorites. Let us consider for a moment the animal that is a sheep. First and foremost they are skittish creatures. At the first sign of danger they run the other way. There is very little courage in a sheep. Second, they are completely defenseless. They have no claws, teeth, venom; they are not very big, basically it’s as easy for a predator to have sheep for dinner, as it is for an American to have pizza for dinner. So to sum up, the sheep are TOTALLY dependent on the shepherd; without him, they are as good as dead. In your mind, imagine a sheepfold smack dab in the middle of a desert place. If left to their own will they find food? No, they will starve. Will they seek out still waters? No, they will die of dehydration, if not eaten first. They cannot survive without the guiding, protecting hand of the shepherd. Without the shepherd they want for everything, but with a good shepherd they want for nothing. Spiritually, are we not like sheep? (Perhaps temporally as well, although we are inclined to think different.)
The scripture says that “when lust has conceived it bringeth forth sin; and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.”(James 1:15) Lust is a strong desire towards something, anything really. I believe that lust conceives in the mind, at the point when a man or women says "I am going to have this thing or do that thing at any cost." When you finally say, I am going to do this no matter the consequences (Usually there are layers and layers of justification before you get to this point)-that is when lust conceives in the mind and will bring forth sin. However before the justification, lust, and sin there is want/lack.
Brethren, “let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.”(James 1:4) Tribulation worketh patience because tribulation forces a person to lean on God and less on self. Real tribulation will bring you to a place where you realize; “I can’t do this on my own.” This worketh patience in your life; you begin to realize that God will supply all my needs....if I just wait for him, and allow him to do so. As the sheep follow the good shepherd that will lead them to green pastures, so must we follow Jesus trusting that he will lead us to the nutrients that gives us abiding life. He WILL: lead, comfort, keep and protect; but sometimes we must wait for it. The devil will creep in, in these times of wait and try to make you want; or rather, try to convenience you that you lack. When you begin to believe this lie you begin to want, lust, covet, sin, and then, eventually….death. Let us instead say to the enemy of our soul-
“The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” –Psalms 23: 1-3
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