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The Lord is my shepherd. If that isn’t true, then the rest of it won’t have much of a chance.
But let’s hope for the best, shall we? The Lord is my shepherd!
I shall not want. Yikes. I don’t even know where to begin. But let’s start with the obvious. It is poetry. It expresses the language of the heart, the language of emotion.
I don’t think it means I won’t want a meal or a place to lie my head tonight. I don’t think it means I won’t want a new car or even a boat. I don’t think it means I won’t want good things for my family and friends.
I think you get my drift.
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I shall not want … the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
I think it does mean that if the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. If the Lord is my shepherd, I can be at ease(?), have a sense of confidence(?), be in a position of peace(?), not be wanting.
The imagery is agriculture, livestock, sheep. A shepherd, extending care, is meeting the needs of the sheep.
But in this case, there seems to be in addition to the shepherd making a choice to care, that the sheep also make a choice to receive care. The sheep make a choice to be close to the shepherd. The sheep are comfortable with the care and custody of the shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The Lord is my choice, and I am the Lord’s choice. And because I trust, because I want the care of custody of the shepherd, I have what I need.
I think it also expresses even when I am at the end of me, tired, frustrated, even unable to think the right way about things, unable to lift my head, unable to lift my thoughts, unable to speak or sing the right words, even at the end of my physical health or my physical life: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
I have given myself to the care and custody of the shepherd and there is nothing more for me to do.
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I think it means that I don’t have to strive, I don’t have to impress, I can be content, I can live freely, I can live in peace, I don’t have to win: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
I think it means it will affect my thinking choices, my buying choices, my word choices, my recovery choices, my life: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
If we haven’t made the Lord our shepherd, maybe start here:
Jesus, I want you to be my shepherd I give myself to the care and custody of the Father, Son and Spirit. Save me from myself. Amen.
A second prayer:
Jesus, help me, I shall not want. Amen.
Peace.
John Just is a pastor at Timberwood Church in Nisswa.
