MY KING

    Who is my shepherd?  It is the Lord! The true and living God.  David is able to say with pride and confidence that the Lord is my God.  It is not the weak god(s) of these Philitines, but the true God.  Who is your God?  What is the nature of your God?  Is it the omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), omnipresence (all-present), God of the Bible?  Or is the God you worship, a less than powerful God.  I believe that at times we want to take God and put in Him in a box.  We corner God up in our minds, and only bring Him out when it is convenient, or we really need Him.  We need to let God out of the box, and start thinking in terms of the real nature of God.  A God that really is omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresence, a God that can handle anything, from the creating of a universe by His Word, to the the needs of a small child. There was a tradition in the church we previously attended, before the Pastoral Prayer, if anyone had any requests, or praises he would speak up.  One Sunday a little boy, about 3 years old, spoke up and asked the preacher to pray that the people who stole his sled would bring it back.  This little boy had an undoubting trust in the God he worshipped, no problem was too big or too small for his God.  To us that boy's problem may have seemed small, but to him it was the biggest problem that he had. We have the privilege of worshiping the true God.  We must understand the nature of the God we worship, so that we can take to Him every concern we have, big or small.  So faithful is He, that we 'shall not want.'  Surely each of us has wanted something. I know that I have, especially around Christmas and my birthday.  What does David mean?  One of the characteristics of our being, is wanting to know the unknowable.  We each wonder,  "What will happen tomorrow, next week, or next year?", or "What is there after this life? What is heaven like?", or "Will I have food next week? A place to live?"  These are questions that sometimes plague us, but we need not fear.  Why?  Because God has provided for our every want our every need, and given us the answers.  We can know that God has prepared a place for us in heaven, and therefor we need not fear.  We know that God will provide for our every bodily need.  We need not fear what is going to happen tomorrow, because we know that God is in control, and we are promised in Rom 8:28, "...that all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  God has given us that inner peace of our heart and mind, if only we take hold of it. The Lord God almighty is our God.  We need not want once we realize whom we serve, and cast all our cares upon Him.

As our good shepherd, Jesus provides us with rest, food, and water. When we come to Him we enter His “Sabbath rest” or salvation (Heb. 4:1–11). He feeds us with Himself because He is the bread which has come down from heaven. As Jesus tells the multitudes, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Then Jesus gives us His Spirit to quench our thirst. Again He promises, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–38). John comments, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit” (John 7:39).¹

1 Williams, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1986). Psalms 1–72 (Vol. 13, p. 193). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.