Psalm 23 - Want

This might be the most well known psalm of all. It’s used in a variety of ways. Jews might traditionally sing the Psalm in Hebrew at the third meal of their weekly Sabbath. Most Orthodox Christians recite the Psalm prior to taking communion. And we’re probably most familiar with it being read at the burial site of a funeral.

The verse that stands out to me today is the very first.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” - Psalm 23:1

It’s an easy jump to think about Jesus as shepherd. There is not only authority in the role of shepherd, but a responsibility and ownership of care. A shepherd leads to pasture, keeps the sheep from harm, and stays with the sheep at all times. It’s the “shall not want” part that probably throws most of us off.

Here’s the problem: We want. We struggle with contentment. We so often look for what’s next that many times we don’t even see what’s now. Our want easily turns to need. And needs, when provided for, feel like entitlements. I think this has a lot to do with our starting point.

The phrase “I shall not want” comes from the Hebrew word “chacer”. It literally means, “to lack or be abated, bereave, decrease, fail, to make lower, want.”

In it’s definition we find that it’s not talking about our desire for “stuff”. Instead it’s talking about the provision of the Shepherd. And it's not just the physical. It's the spiritual, the emotional, and the relational. And what he provides is not less than what we need. It is sufficient. It is not “less than”. It is not lacking. It’s saying that we will not be IN want.

And how does this happen? Scripture reminds us that He walks us through the journey. He leads us to pasture. He leads us to waters (vs.2), down paths (vs.3), and through valleys (vs.4), in every season and in every circumstance he is there. In Him, we can know we have what we need. We do not lack. In simply having confidence of His presence, we can find comfort.

And here’s a comforting thought. In the final verse it says that, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, all the days of my life.” The word goodness literally means good in the “wildest sense” and mercy meaning more obviously “kindness” or love. But the less obvious word “follow” (the Hebrew “radaph”) can be translated “to run after, to chase, or hunt”. What an aggressive promise.

Father, thanks for hunting me down with your goodness and mercy. Thank you for pursuing me, even when I run. Thank you that you are there. As David reminds us in Psalm 23, thank you for restoring my soul, thank you for being my comfort. Amen.

Nehemiah 9 – Hidden provision

Today's thought comes from a friend. enjoy:

For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen. (Nehemiah 9:21)

I remember writing up a safety officer in one of my units for an award one time and putting in the line, “we will never be able to measure the number of accidents that did not occur because of his efforts…”, or something to that effect. Essentially, when someone is vigilant or is doing the right things, it becomes impossible to estimate the number of bad things that didn’t occur. In a similar way when God is looking out for us, providing for us, and protecting us, we lose sight of how much evil and misfortune are kept from us. In this retelling of the history of the Israelites, they attempt to highlight some of the simple things that did not happen to them during their 40 years in the desert. Their clothes didn’t wear out! I’ve got t-shirts that don’t last a year, and here are people wearing stuff in the sun and desert for two generations. This is what I would call God’s hidden provision.

In my life I most associate my vehicle with God’s hidden provision. It’s a 1994 Land Cruiser with 229K miles on it. It’s my daily driver and continues to function well enough to get me wherever I need. Whether it’s a two-day drive to Tucson, or daily commutes to drop my daughter off at school. It has required very little maintenance and has kept us from a car payment for about 8 years. The same holds true for the health of our family and the repairs on our house. I thank God that He has protected us from the illnesses, injuries and accidents that would have really put us in a bind financially.

I challenge us today to remember the hidden provisions in our lives, as the Israelites did, and thank God for his grace.

Nehemiah 5 - House Divided

Chapter four ended right. They were doing the work of God. Although it came with great opposition, they worked with a sword in one hand. I would imagine working with one hand would slow down their pace, but none-the-less they pressed on. However, in chapter 5 there is no mention of work, only strife.

One commentary read, “A great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren meant one group fought against another. When God’s people fight one another they certainly are neither fighting the REAL enemy nor getting God’s work done. The enemy could not stop the work of God by direct attack, but the work stopped when God’s people weren’t unified and working together.”

So there is no mention of advance in chapter 5, only mention of internal fighting. I wonder today what their greatest sin was, the controversy among themselves, or the fact that it kept them from doing what they were called to do. This is an eye opening part of the journey.

“Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain."

Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine." Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others."- Nehemiah 5:1-5

So they were in a famine. People were trying to mortgage their property (and I would imagine taking 2nd mortgages). Taxes had to be paid. Money was slim. Sounds like January 2009. And it was following a season in which they had given much of their money and time to this service project of faith. Seemed like the most inopportune time for a provisional downturn and almost foolish to continue making such sacrifices for the greater good. Yet God is proven a faithful provider (again) through giving Nehemiah favor among the nobles and officials.

“For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” – Psalm 50:10

I'm thinking today about the greater good we are vested in. Whatever that may be in the Kingdom. We may not be building the wall around Jerusalem, but our mission is great. Strife will come, in fact it's here for many, maybe now is not the time to back off and get cautious. Maybe now is the time to truly trust in God's provision:

“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:10-11

"Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." Malachi 3:10