The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

                                                            Psalm 23:1 

As David reflects on the Lord as his Shepherd, he comes to the next logical conclusion…he was in need of nothing. As believers, we too can declare, “I shall not want.” When we belong to Christ and live a life of service to Him we can be assured that we will never be in need of anything. The Bible is full of promises that establish this truth. Here are three of them.

1. Declaring “I shall not want” comes from a life of personal conversation with God. 

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

                                                                                                                   Matthew 6:5-6 

Praying with other believers is a tremendous privilege but it is not necessary to have anyone else around when having a conversation with God. Some of my best times of fellowship with God are in those quite moments, void of distractions and noise. This is not a prohibition against praying publicly or with others, just a reminder that there are great rewards for those who act on the words of Christ and regularly spend time with Him in a special quite place. 

2. Declaring “I shall not want” comes from an understanding that God knows our needs. 

And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

                                                                                                                 Matthew 6:7-8 

One of the magnificent truths of scripture is that we do not have to beg God to act on our behalf. For believers, we understand that God is wholly aware of our needs even before we bring our requests to Him. Again, this is not an instruction to neglect talking to God about our needs rather it is a reminder that He is well aware of them. We can talk to God about anything at anytime, anywhere. He wants us to bring everything to Him. As His children, we can even pray about our failings and temptations. We do not have to work ourselves up into some kind of “holy” feeling to talk to God. As God is aware of our needs even before we ask, He is also quite familiar with our thoughts, our hearts, and our motives. Any attempt to “fake God out” by hiding our true circumstances is an insult to the God who loves us and invites us into this amazing privilege of prayer. 

3. Declaring “I shall not want” comes from replacing worry with seeking God’s kingdom. 

Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

                                                                                                               Matthew 6:31-33 

Worry is the opposite of faith. I cannot count the number of times that I allowed worry to consume my thoughts and actions. The presence of worry is not an indicator that we are no longer saved rather it is gauge that we have forgotten the simple truth that God takes care of His own. Jesus instructs us not to worry about the things of this life. Food, drink, and clothing (not to mention shelter, love, and acceptance) are all things that we need in this life in order to thrive. The promise from Jesus is that as we give Him first priority in our lives, seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, that all of these things in which we are in need will be provided. This doesn’t mean that we become sluggards waiting for God to lower our needs down out of heaven rather it means that as we work (pursuing the calling that God has placed on our lives, being diligent in those things), we can rest in the assurance that He will take care of us.

Jesus reminds us that it is the Gentiles who eagerly seek the things of the world. Our modern day example of this truth would be those who invest their entire lives in seeing how much money they can make or in how many material possessions that they can acquire, then resting in their own efforts rather than trusting and relying on the promises of God. As believers, we are to be different and not fall into the same mode of operating as that of the world. Our treasure is Christ Himself.

I cannot testify enough about how enjoyable it is to see God provide everything that I need, allowing me to rest in His provision and avoid all of the stress that seems to follow those who are focused on money and material possessions. As Christians, we can proclaim that, “The Lord is our Shepherd.” And along with that declaration we can equally and unapologetically proclaim, “I shall not want.”