“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalm 23:1
As we enter the Lenten season, we have decided to focus on Psalm 23 at our house, starting with verse one this week. When the Lord is our shepherd, verse 1 tells us that we lack nothing. My subconscious thoughts so often neglect this truth. It is radical, really, to be so content in the Lord’s leading that no earthly commodity or accomplishment would compare. In one sense, we as humans can be far too content or falsely satisfied with the world’s trappings. In the Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis says,
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Yet, in another sense, we are never satisfied. Our list of desires seems insatiable. As soon as we acquire X we realize that we must have Y. (Cue the Christmas lists that have already started in the Rector house) But the Psalmist here says that the Lord’s presence and leadership in our life so supersedes anything we could want here on this Earth. Father, help us believe this is true.
Anne
See the devotional below to use for Psalm 23:1
