DAY 13 - I SHALL NOT WANT
Andrew Matrone, YA Ministry Lead
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
Psalm 23 is one of the most famous and quoted passages in the Bible. It tells a beautiful story of the relationship between God and his people. The Psalm opens up with the famous line… “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Easy to quote, but right now, difficult to trust, right?
God has a lot of titles, but “shepherd” is not one we tend to use. However, the bible refers to God as a shepherd all through scripture. Why? Well, it’s because the bible also refers to us (you and me) as sheep. And guess what? Sheep need a shepherd.
Understand something about sheep… sheep are not survivors; not strong or independent; not hunters or predators; quite pathetic actually. In other words, they are dumb, directionless and defenseless. And the bible compares us to sheep! OUCH!
Hold up… Don’t get too offended… I don’t think the writers of the bible are trying to call us stupid, I think they are trying to prove a very simple point; that just like a sheep need a shepherd, we need Jesus, AKA “the good shepherd”.
What’s fascinating about sheep is that sheep do not worry about their lives; what they will eat, where they will drink, etc… Because they have this innate trust in their shepherd and because of that, wherever the shepherd leads, the sheep go. The sheep trust in their shepherd for daily provisions and protection and they trust that they will be led down the right path.
Let’s bring this back to us… Have you trusted God as your shepherd in this season or have you lost trust that he is leading you down the right path, that he will guide you, provide for you, protect you? Look, life may not be how you thought it would be at this point in time or you may find yourself in a situation you’re not sure how you’re going to climb out of, BUT can you trust that God is still leading, that God is still healing, that God is still protecting, that God is still watching over, that God still cares.
Don’t forget… Shepherds are meant to lead and sheep are meant to follow, it’s always been that way and will be that way. However, as long as you don’t trust the shepherd, you’ll always find yourself wandering away from the good shepherd.
Who has been your shepherd in this season -- your friends, the media, the government you? The choice is up to you. Trust God… Let him lead… And follow… BECAUSE he may just take you somewhere you never expected.
We love you and we are praying for you!