A God Who Is All You Need – Psalm 23
What do you want from God?
Quickly! What do you want—more than anything else? Do not try to think of some spiritual sounding answer, but be honest with yourself and with God. A more important question is, “Does the Lord want you to have it?”
You will experience true peace and contentment when you can honestly say, “I shall not want” (v. 1). In order to reach this level of spiritual maturity, it is not enough to merely say, “The Lord is my shepherd,” but you must actually experience the Lord as your shepherd. He wants to have this kind of relationship with you.
As you trust Him, He will enable you to lie down in rest, lead you, restore your soul, provide your food, and anoint you with oil. He will do all of the things a shepherd is happy to do for his sheep.
The Lord promised to restore your soul. This is the process of changing your mind, will, and emotions so that you will have a closer relationship with Him. He wants you to be an obedient sheep that gives Him great happiness.
The Lord never promised that your life would be filled with only good experiences, but He promised to be with you at all times—even during times of death and grief. Even when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you need not fear any evil because He will be with you (v. 4).
Are you wondering what you should want? Paul, the Apostle wrote, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10). What greater desire could you have?
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” (v. 6).