“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
Can we envision being free of want? Can we imagine a life where we are only aware of the overwhelming provision of the Good Shepherd. A life where we live in the trust of the One who cares and tends for our every need. What if we lived in a world where artificial desires were not generated by advertisers bent on placing a yoke of debt around our necks.
We were created to live under the care of another who provides every provision that we have. We were made to live in the garden that was prepared for us before we were created. A place prepared for you. A mansion in His Presence.
Can we imagine being free of all want? Our search for security, safety, and contentment is endless and exhausting. We rely on human resources to meet our needs rather than upon the divine care of our Shepherd, thus peace eludes us.
We live mentally and emotional exhausted because of the futility of our reliance upon human ingenuity. The world has accepted this norm and unfortunately the church has largely adapted to it’s host culture. It appears that there is a complete lack of understanding of the theology of the Shepherd.
We must recapture the vision of living under the “shadow of the Almighty.” We must begin again to imagine a state where there is no lack, no “wanting.” Let’s imagine a life that is free of the fear of worry, anxiety and lack.
I see too many people who are ashamed of unrealized desires. Their sense of failure is the underlying issue that plagues their emotional and physical health. They need a Shepherd.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads be beside still waters; he restores my soul.”
Humanity has lost it’s soul. Christianity has lost it’s soul. Christianity has allowed itself to be reduced to an “after life” reward. Christians must rediscover the fullness of living with the Shepherd. The Shepherd guides and cares for us. We are not merely traveling to the Shepherd the Shepherd is traveling with us. We must life a “with Shepherd” life.
Let’s imagine, for a moment, a life where we have a Shepherd. A life where our needs and our desires are meet by the unconditional Love of the Shepherd himself. We must begin again to envision a whole new way of being and living. Green pastures, calm waters are where we will flourish. Yes, the after life is the provision for life after death, but the Shepherd has provision for today. He knows how to fulfill our needs right now!
We cannot survive without understanding that we were created to live life “with-God.” We are made to be lead by and sustained by His Presence, nothing else will suffice.
He has prepared “a table in the presence of our enemies.” We can feast in them midst of a world that is in turmoil and conflict. Our Shepherd nows how to care for us in the midst of a world that is living in chaos.
I want to challenge each of you to begin to imagine a “life without want.” A life that is cared for by the Great Shepherd.
