Notes from China
A school teacher in China, 7 weeks into their lockdown routine passed on 7 hints on how to cope with Coronavirus. The first was "accept that you have no control over the situation. Let go of any thoughts of trying to plan too much for the next month or two."
But this is the one that most caught my attention, "Try not to listen / read / watch too much media. It will drive you crazy."
That tip is one reason these Devotionals aren't all about Coronavirus.
Our text today, as we amble through Psalm 23 is simple:
"The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall not be in want"
What a world of faith and wisdom in our one line: "I shall not be in want."
The Meaning
The word "want" means exactly what it says on the tin, I shall not be in need of, I shall not lack. But lack what? Our minds naturally turn to both our material and spiritual needs.
The Lord promises to his industrious and trusting people all they need in terms of physical needs. Regarding our physical needs the Saviour said, "Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) The ageing psalmist says he's seen God keep this promise over his life time, "I have been young, now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." (Psalm 37:25)
The Good Shepherd does not promise to provide all our wants, we note in passing, he promises to provide all our needs; there is a difference. In our sinful greed we may want more than we actually need. "My God will provide all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
This is not to say that God is stingy, not at all, he is unbelievably generous. We have, for example, many more material possessions than we actually need, do we not? We could, any one of us, theroretically, live in a one-room tent, with one set of clothes, and enough food and water for just one today.
But is it not true that the Lord has given us, so often, much more than this?
We have perhaps a television - that is a luxury (we don't actually need one). Perhaps we have a computer - that too is a luxury. A mobile phone? Luxury. He has given us more than one set of clothes, and so on. You get the point: the generosity of the Shepherd. When we pray "Give us this day our daily bread" we are both asking God for our material needs and remembering with thanksgiving that every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17).
And then, following suit, the Lord has "blessed us in the spiritual realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 1:3) Here is a fact we little dwell upon: the moment someone becomes a believer, at that moment they receive all the spiritual blessings that a 100 year old saint possesses! (If there are people 112 years old, there could well be believers with a 100 years of faith behind them.)
We all have the forgiveness of sins, we all possess the spirit of adoption, we have all been chosen before the creation of the world, and so on. God has blessed us all with "every" spiritual blessing.
What we do grow in, over the years, is an understanding and enjoyment of these bountiful spiritual gifts. Just as a child with five birthday presents received on the same day, takes time to enjoy them one by one, so we too received all of God's spiritual blessings on the day we believed, but it will take a lifetime - and indeed an eternity - to appreciate them all.
The Great Confidence
David could have said "The Lord is my shepherd, but I may lack something, I hope not, but who knows, perhaps I may." But he does not. Instead he says "I shall not be in want." He is 100% sure that every thing he needs will be supplied, bar nothing!
Another word for confidence is faith. Now faith grows with the years. Over the decades David has walked with God, he has proven God's faithfulness in day to day life, and so David's faith has grown with every passing year.
On the one hand faith is a gift from God. But on the other hand, the seed of faith grows with the years, as we experience the goodness and sheer faithfulness of God. This happens in any living relationship: as the other one keeps their promises, trust grows. It's no different with the Lord.
The Reasons for Great Confidence
Why is David so confident? We've alluded to one reason - years of experience with the Shepherd has built faith in this sheep.
A futher reason is the wealth of the One he trusts. If you were a pauper and a man with savings of a £100 promised you £50, but another man with savings of a £100 million promised you £50, you might be inclined to trust the richer man more than the poor man, for it is easier for the richer man to fulfill his promise than the poorer man.
Our God "owns the cattle on a thousand hills," he owns "all the silver in all the mines" (Psalm 50:12) and the treasure of all the nations, saying about "their" treasure - "the silver is mine and the gold is mine" (Haggai 2:8).
Sheep can trust their wealthy Shepherd.
But a third reason David is so confident that he will lack nothing lies in the character of the Shepherd he trusts. Not only is He rich in treaure, the Shepherd is loving in character. A father's liberality to his children is a pale shadow of God's super-abundant generosity to us.
God is love. His heart is filled with love for his children (though the Devil lies to us otherwise). And the greatest demonstration of our Shepherd's love took place 2000 years ago, when he laid down his very life for his sheep in order to meet their greatest want or lack, which is alienation from God. To bring us back to God, the Good Shepherd bore away our sins in his body on the cross.
And once he had set the giving-bar that high, no subsequent giving is too great for him. I often return to this outstanding description of God's abundant giving:
"He who did not spare his Son, but gave him up for us all - how will be not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
Do we get that?
If God has given us his Greatest Gift, he will - of course! - give us the tiny little things (tiny to God) we ask him for!
You and I fret and worry so much. About all sorts of things, about today and tomorrow. We need to hear the Good Shepherd's own voice - again and again and again - "Do not worry!"
It's a command: Do not worry!
A SONG FOR THE DAY
I have chosen a song which reminds us that the Good Shepherd will supply us with all the grace we need so that we will not lack, whatever the burden we are carrying.
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labours increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials His multiplied peace.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done;
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done;
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
His pow'r has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Father in Heaven,
We thank you for this new day.
We thank you for every good and perfect material gift - we have so many of them - from your bountiful hand. You give us much more than we need, for you are generous and kind.
We thank you most of all that we are spiritually rich beyond knowing. We thank you for chosing us, we thank you for adopting us into your family and we thank you for redemption through the blood of Jesus.
Forgive our fretful and forgetful worrying and teach us to obey our Shepherd's command today and help us not to worry about a thing.
We pray these things in the Name of the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
Amen
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