The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. ~Psalm 23:1 (KJV)
Just as a shepherd completely takes care of his sheep, God completely cares for His people. He provides wisdom, guidance, strength, resources, and everything we need to live and enjoy life through the ministry of His Holy Spirit. Many people do not understand or recognize the Holy Spirits ministry because they have not made themselves acquainted with the scriptures that illuminate His purpose and work. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the earth today for believers who have put their trust in Jesus and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Scripture teaches that those who do have the Holy Spirit of God wield a tremendous amount of power in the earth because that Spirit is a direct link to the Father Himself, because He is the Father! It's important we understand this truth because the temptations that surround us today have been placed there by the enemy to keep us chained to our own wisdom and our own abilities. 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (NIV) How many people do you know that would consider themselves rich? Maybe we don't because it seems there's always more to be had. None of us have it all, or do we? Knowing who we are in Christ and knowing who Christ is in us is Gods perfect provision for the believer.
In addition to that, if you know Jesus then you know contentment and if you are content then you truly do have it all. The psalmist says the Lord is his shepherd, he shall not want. When we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, He teaches us to trust in God’s ability and His resources instead of our own. When we trust in ourselves, we always come up short and wanting. Overthinking things or what the bible calls "reasoning" causes more issues in the life of the believer than we would like to admit. It can either stop us dead in our tracks with “analysis paralysis” or it can cause us to end up going in directions just opposite from the will of God for our lives. We are more than capable of overthinking our situations until we come up with a grand scheme to get our way instead of trusting and patiently waiting on our Lord. What do you "want" for? Just as there is a time between seeding and harvest, there is a time between asking and receiving. In that time our faith is developed as we patiently anticipate for God to fulfill His promises in our lives. We don’t have to live each day settling for our own understanding, meager strength, and limited resources. We just have to tell our heart "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!" In doing that we roll our cares on to Him and we know He cares for us. When we follow the Lord in this manner, He leads us to green pastures. He says in Corinthians 12:19 "My power works best in weakness.” (NLT) Give up your rights, your plans and your solutions and contentment will be yours as you trust in Him to be the God of perfect provision.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ~Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
In what ways have you learned to trust in Gods abilities and resources verses trusting in your own?
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