The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1).
" + "Doubtless, we have all confused our wants and our needs at some point in our lives. When we were children, ranting and raving about the toy, the video game, the doll, or the bicycle we wanted, this was our way of expressing our need for these things. "I want" meant "I need." Funny how after we got the toy or thing for which we would have given our two front teeth, we placed it on a shelf or even forgot about it after a few hours, days, or weeks. Then we moved on to something else. The interesting thing is that - in many cases - this is still the case. For many of us, "I want" still means "I need." See, those things, which we want and really think need, are just the bigger toys of our adult years. More importantly, they are just things, things, which for whatever reason, we use to justify ourselves and/or to distinguish from others. Moreover, oftentimes (if they ever are at all), these things we want are not what we really need; indeed, obtaining these things does not satisfy our fundamental need for relationship with God.
" + "In Psalm 23, David reminds us that the Master of the universe, the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the Lord is our shepherd. This is the isness of God, which represents Who God was, is, and always will be, that is, Who God is in God's own being eternally. We are not told when David penned this psalm, but let's imagine that he wrote it in middle-age in retrospect. Writing, he remembered that the Master of the universe was so mindful of him that he protected him as he hunted down the lion and the bear. Writing, he remembered that the everlasting God guided him when Saul sought his life. Writing, he remembered that the Creator of the ends of the earth assured him that he would re-take all, which was stolen from him at Ziglag. Writing, the shepherd remembered that the Lord is the True Shepherd.
" + "David, a man after God's own heart, wrote not out of a desire to satisfy his wants, but to fulfill God's Will for his life. Recognizing God's continual presence and inspiration at all points in his life, David wrote that relationship with God was all that he wanted and needed. God satisfied the fundamental yearning of his heart, and, indeed, ours. David reminisced about the deliverance, guidance, comfort, strength, joy, and responsibility that relationship with God gives. True relationship with the Lord, our Shepherd, and deference to His rod and staff leads us to rest and comfort in green pastures and beside still waters and the restoration of our souls. And, even when we of our own accord venture off the narrow way, He is still with us.
" + "So that we would have a real example of the Shepherd-hood of God, God gave us His Son, the Good Shepherd. See, in 1st century Palestine and at other places and times when shepherding was a major profession, the shepherd would oftentimes, after corralling the sheep in some stable or cave, remain in the doorway or opening of the same and sleep there. In this manner, the shepherd really laid down his life for the sheep; any man or beast, which sought to steal or kill the sheep, would first have to overpower the shepherd. This is the fellowship God desires for us to live into. The question is: Do we seek after and desire this fellowship, or do we still crave in our inmost parts fellowship with the world? Fellowship with God satisfies all our wants and our need in Christ Jesus in a way in which other people and things are fundamentally and essentially incapable. What type of fellowship do we have with our Shepherd? Let us recognize that God shall supply all of our need (Jesus Christ), because God already has.
" + "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all!
";