“I have all that I need” (Psalm 23:1, NLT)
Or, as the KJV states, “I shall not want.” David is not describing desire, as if to say, “I don’t really want anything.” Literally he was saying I am not lacking anything that I need, for those who trust the Shepherd will never lack anything they need.
I recently read that complaining is the new drug of the 21st century. We are prone to complain because we don’t like what we have or where we are in life. We complain because we believe life is unfair and we deserve more. But I don’t think complaining is new to the 21st century. People have complained for thousands of years. Think about the Israelites. Their behavior in their exodus from Egypt was described as “murmuring.”
The Book of Hebrews reflects on the murmuring pilgrims and exclaimed that the murmuring unbelief and lack of trust of the Israelites was the very thing that prevented them from entering God’s rest.
So what does it mean to be content? To be content means to be self contained. It is the heartfelt conviction that what I have in God is greater than what I don’t have in life. It reminds me of the story of the Puritan who sat down to say table grace over a simple mean of bread and water. Lifting his eyes to the sky, he said, “All this and Jesus too?”
We struggle to be content and are prone to complain because we tend to compare ourselves with the Joneses. But in God’s economy, your stuff isn’t yours. As it has been said, there are no hearses pulling U-Haul trailers. We leave it all behind. Your stuff isn’t yours and your stuff isn’t you. We may recognize one another as the man with the nice car or the woman with the beautiful home. But do we really think when we enter heaven that God will recognize us that way?
When we give God our sack of discontent, we don’t lose something, we gain something. What will you gain?
Your marriage? Your children? Your self-respect? Your joy and happiness?
Counselors can comfort you in the storm, but you need a God who can still the storm. Friends can hold your hand at your deathbed, but you need a God who has conquered the grave. Philosophers can debate the meaning of life, but you need a God who can declare the meaning of life. You need a Shepherd.
