Verse: Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Devotion
Take a moment and pause before reading this. Quiet yourself for just a moment. Maybe take a deep breath. Become aware of the truth that God is with you right now. Wherever you are reading this, his Spirit is with you.

Can you remember a moment in your life when you felt really well cared for? As a kid I can remember those moments when I was scared (I used to be terrified of the dark….ok, maybe I still am a little if I’m being honest!) and my parents would come and let me know that everything was safe. Just their presence comforted me. Maybe you have a memory of being a child and your parent took care of you. Or maybe as an adult, a loved one cared for you. Maybe someone showed you love at just the right time, gave you a phone call, bought you some food, showed, in some way, how deeply they cared. And you just felt cared for and loved.

That is the feeling I associate with this verse. This verse is a reminder, a promise, a declaration by David, that God is our caretaker. He is our comforter. He is our guide. He has our back. He knows our need and our pain, and he is there to care for us. In that way, we lack nothing, because he will always attend to our needs. Read it again in a few more versions:

  • The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. (NCV)
  • You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. (CEV)
  • The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. (TPT)

Let that truth sink into your heart this morning. You are cared for by the loving Almighty, who knows your every need, and cares for each deeply.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:29-30, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

His care for you and I is so deep, so intimate, so authentic, so true. There is nothing too big for him to walk you through, and nothing too small that he doesn’t care. This is why you can say with confidence, “I lack nothing.” Because the Great Shepherd of your soul is available and ready to care for you. His “love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5) and he is generously ready to “graciously give us all things.” (Romans 8:32). He is ready to bless us with “every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3) so that we can “know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19).

That is my prayer this morning for you and me. That we could know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are being (actively in the present, right now!) cared for. And that we, therefore, truly can proclaim with David that we lack nothing.

Prayer
Jesus, I pray today you would make the truth of this verse even more real and present in my life.

Author: Christian Dunn