Following the Good Shepherd: Day 10 - Pastor Ryan Shook
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“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalm 23:1 (NKJV)
I love the story of the little boy in Sunday School who was challenged to memorize Psalm 23:1. He rehearsed it over and over with his mother, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. … The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. … The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Finally, Sunday came, and he was ready to quote his memory verse before the class. He stood up with confidence and could hardly wait to quote his verse but when he did, it came out like this, “The Lord is my shepherd, He’s all I want!”
He may have missed the exact wording, but he certainly grasped the meaning of this verse! When the Lord is your Shepherd, you have all you need! As our Good Shepherd, He leads us, He guides us, and He provides for every need! In the New Testament, the apostle Paul wrote this from a prison cell to the church in Philippi. “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (NLT) Did you get that? He will supply all our needs! Praise the Lord! What needs has He supplied in your life? Have you given Him thanks? Joyful people are grateful people! What needs has He met in your life for which you can thank Him for right now? Take a moment and list them. It will do your soul good! You’ll begin to feel the joy of all that God has done for you out of His glorious riches in Christ Jesus!
Our culture is infected with a pandemic of what I call “Moreitis”! It may not be a real medical term, but we are all subject to being infected with the feeling that we just need more, more stuff, more money, more things to make us happy; that we don’t have enough, or that we are not enough! Think about it, though. If having more made you more happy, than those who have the most would be the most happy. Is that true? We hear every day almost of those celebrities and super-rich who take their lives because they feel empty. Jesus said that our lives are not measured by our possessions. In Luke 12:15 (MSG) He put it this way, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."
How many people climb the ladder of success only to discover it had been leaning against the wrong building? It’s not success that will satisfy your soul. You and I need significance in life and that comes by following the Good Shepherd. Is He your Shepherd? How do you know? When God is your Shepherd, you have contentment, fulfillment, and satisfaction. Listen again to that prisoner writing to Philippi. He gives us some insight into the secret of contentment that he found in Jesus as His Shepherd, “… I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11b-13 (NIV)
John D. Rockefeller, an Ohio native, started Standard Oil. Rockefeller was at one point the world’s richest man and first-ever American billionaire. Considering he was a billionaire in the early 1900’s he is still considered the richest person in modern history. When a reporter asked him, “How much money is enough?” He responded, “Just a little bit more.” Are you suffering from Moreitis? Learn the secret of contentment that Paul learned by making the Lord your Shepherd today. The truth is that if you’re not content with what you have, you’ll never be content with what you want. Distinguish between want and need. Our Shepherd has promised to meet all our needs, not all our greeds! Take a few minutes to meditate on that first verse of Psalm 23 until you capture the meaning that little boy did in Sunday School.