The Lord is my shepherd…..I shall not be in want.

I shall not be in want?

This is one of the hardest verses by which we as Christians are to live!  We live in a society where want is the name of the game. I want… I want… I want. We live in  a materialistic, selfish culture. How are we to manage a life that is under the control of the Holy Spirit’s calling?

We have to live by God’s Word and that will be our focus of  today’s lesson.  The Word gives us hope.  It is not our opinion. It is not what any Hollywood Star might tell us. The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want!!  But our flesh cries out and we give in to it.

First, we should remember who we are.  God tells us in Psalms 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and those who dwell in it.   Do you live in the world?  More importantly, are you one of God’s children?

Psalms 100:3 “Know that the LORD Himself is God.  It is He who made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” He is our Shepherd.  It is by His choice that He fashioned mankind.  He made us in His image.  He purchased us by the blood of His Son, Jesus.  He won forever the victory of Satan.

As we look at one of the “The LORD is my______” verses, we can find how we clues about how and why we can say “I shall not want.”

Lamentations 3:24 tells us, “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I have hope in Him.”

Psalms 16:5 “The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; you support my lot.

Psalms 119:58 “The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words. I sought Your favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word.”

Lamentations 3:24 tells us, “The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I have hope in Him.”

Psalms 73:26 “My heart and my flesh my fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

A portion is a part of the whole. It is an amount which will satisfy.  It is an allotment of something that belongs to you as in a portion of land to be an inheritance.   God’s portion for us is always enough.  Whatever the amount needed, it will be enough.  Enough strength for whatever the task.  Enough love for whomever we are given to love.  Enough faith to believe God for our needs.

Psalms 16 declares our portion to be our inheritance in Christ Jesus.  Our inheritance is why Jesus came to earth to redeem man.  It is an inheritance in the kingdom of God.  It is a promise from God that we will one day rule and reign with him. It is a promise that He will keep us until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is that one day we will be free from the bonds which hold us slaves to our natures in this fallen world. 

For now, we rest in the knowledge and promise that we have an inheritance, a portion that is enough. We can know that he holds us firmly in His hand. We have the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, our counselor and our teacher.  We have a hope!

Lamentations says, I am to have hope in my soul because the Lord is my portion.

I shall not want!    I have enough.

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The Lord is my shepherd…..I shall not be in want.

Learning to Rest in His Word.

Love to you, Freda Reynolds…