Click here to return to Blog Post Intro
As he put it in Psalm 23:1 (The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want), David found the pasture where discontent goes to die. It’s as if he’s saying, “What I have in God is greater than what I don’t have in life.”
Think about all the stuff you have accumulated. Whether it’s at home or in the office, I realize that when I move, I tend to purge…and get rid of stuff I no longer need. But when I stay in the same place, things stack up.
In the end, nothing is really mine. In fact, no one takes anything with him. Just ask any funeral director. When one of the wealthiest men in history, John D. Rockefeller, died, his accountant was asked, “How much did John D. leave?” The accountant replied, “All of it.”
This statement can only be made by the sheep who is utterly satisfied with its owner and perfectly content with its lot in life.
The word “want” as used here means not lacking—not deficient—in proper care or management. It also means utterly contented in the Good Shepherd’s care and consequently not craving or desiring anything more.
Consider what the apostle Paul said about contentment, “I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have… I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty” (Philippians 4:11-12). Interestingly, those are the verses immediately preceding Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Jesus Christ, who gives me strength.”
For more about contentment, check out one of these previous posts:
- Richard Swenson’s Contentment
- William Barcley’s The Secret of Contentment
Contentment should be the hallmark of the man or woman who has put his or her affairs in the hands of God. This is especially true in our affluent age. Despite an unparalleled wealth in material assets, we are extremely insecure, unsure of ourselves, and bankrupt in spiritual values.
As Max Lucado put it, “When we surrender to God the cumbersome sack of discontent, we don’t just give up something, we gain something. God replaces it with a lightweight, tailor-made, sorrow-resistant attache’ of gratitude.”
May we lean on Jesus Christ, not be “in want”, and learn contentment, as we shoot for the stars!
Credits:
- Max Lucado’s Traveling Light
- Philip Keller’s A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23