I Shall Not Want

Want — a lack or being short of something desirable or essential.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

This phrase has been sticking with me recently — “I shall not want.”

I don’t believe this is a super strict self-denial tactic that David is referring to. He’s not punishing himself from ever enjoying anything. It’s not like when he sees something he wants he’s saying, “Snap back into it! DO. NOT. WANT.”

No, there is a reason that David knows he doesn’t have any want.

The only reason you wouldn’t want something is because you either already have it or you have something better than what’s being offered. This particular Psalm is written from a heart of understanding that the Lord is our Shepherd. God, our Father, represents a Shepherd caring for his sheep.

That tells me that within the love and covering of the Father, there is absolutely everything we have ever and will ever want and need. Under the care of our Shepherd there is provision, protection, and promise. There is no lack. There is no fear. There is no worry.

It says that He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. God offers a feast to us. Satan, our enemy, also offers something to eat. But his meal is falsely fulfilling. His food always leaves you still desiring more, like trying to fill up on cotton candy. The thing is, until you’ve tasted the feast of the Shepherd, the enemy’s meal seems quite good because you have nothing to compare it to. But once you’ve partaken of the feast, there is absolutely no desire for the enemy’s pitiful offerings.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, it says that once the son had spent everything he had, he began to be in want. Once he had indulged in everything the world had to offer, he realized that not only did it not fulfill, but it actually left him more unfulfilled than ever before. He began to remember what things were like under the covering of his father. In his father’s care he was fulfilled. He was loved. He was never in want.

The world offers endless pleasures and false promises that seem worth indulging in. But it never satisfies. And because you’re never satisfied, you always go back for more. That is, until you’ve tasted of the Lord’s goodness.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

When you find the Father, you find fulfillment. Once you come under the care of the Shepherd, all the world and its desires fade away. Temptations are no longer tempting. Distractions are no longer distracting. Because your heart is full, you’re not looking for it to be filled anywhere else. You have the source.

“I shall not want.”

It’s not a statement of self discipline. It’s a statement of absolute and complete fulfillment because there is no one like our God. Our Father. Our Shepherd.

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