The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1
As a Christian who was raised in the church, the picture of a shepherd is one of the most familiar illustrations I've heard since I was a child. But have you ever stopped to really consider what shepherds do? According to the Reformation Study Bible, the "image of God as shepherd is inexhaustibly rich". He stays with his flock, and they are completely dependent on him for food, water and safety from predators.
In that same way, He is our Shepherd.
When I set out to really meditate on this verse, I was reminded of His provision: "I shall not want." It didn't say, "I will want a few times, or we will barely make it through sometimes", it says, I shall not want. We won't want for anything that is good for us. God has never, nor will He ever let us go without. Sometimes it's just what we need. Sometimes, it's abundantly more than we ask or think. But we never want.
Today, I meditate on His provision, and trust Him that I will never have to "want" because my Shepherd takes care of me. I pray the same for you.
