Getting Out of Being "in Want"

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C.S. Lewis)

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want."  What would it be like to not be "in want"?  That is where I find myself too often - stuck "in want."  Desire is a cruel master.  It never has enough.  Desire can only be fulfilled when it submits to something greater.  Desire leaves us before half the journey is done to fulfillment..  Half-hearted desire wanders and gets lost, taking us one way and then another, but never further.  Only with the Lord as my shepherd will desire become part of deep satisfaction, the place where I can say, "I shall not be in want."

"Now I lay me down to sleep."  I used to say that prayer as a child.  I felt such comfort in the softness of my bed and the darkness of the room and one of my parents close by.  Recovery comes from such rest.  As I laid myself down, I also laid aside the days troubles and concerns.  Something in a child can forget such things.  God brings me to that place where I can lie down and lay down, so that I can enjoy what he has given to me.

The place of my rest is the green pasture of my life.  Many people pray "Give us today our daily bread" on many Sundays.  Yesterday's pastures are brown.  Tomorrow's pastures are not yet grown.  The green pastures reside in today's life.  Only in these pastures can I find rest instead of regret or worry.  The comings and goings of this day are where the hand of my Shepherd can nourish me.  Even remembering and hoping live in the present if they have any life at all.  God satisfies my soul as we walk together into this day, this hour, this moment, with him as my guide.

The great danger is that I will walk by that place of rest and green pastures.  Instead of lying down in trust and hope, I take up my life in a restless rush after empty dreams.  Instead of laying down my troubles and concerns into his hands, I clench onto them with determination to fix what I can on my own.  Instead of seeing the pastures green around me, I think they must be greener on the "other side."  The other side being a past I cannot recover or a future I only think I know.  I do not say, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places" (Psalm 16:6) or "Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." (Genesis 28:16)  I say, "I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones. . . and I'll say to myself,'. . .Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.'"  (Luke 12:18-19)  Such is the nature of desire as a master: it is greed, which is idolatry.

Resting.  Receiving this day's events as nourishment.  Abandoning greed.  My soul will be satisfied and restored on this path.  It is not the denial of my desires, but placing it under the rule of God.  Under his influence, desire can lead to what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful.  In these I find satisfaction for my soul.  Desire is fulfilled after it is laid aside for greater things.  It has done its job.  Lord, let my desires lead me to you, your ways, and your guidance.  Show me how to make them servants instead of masters of my life so that my soul may be restored in paths of righteousness for your name's sake.  Amen.

The Sort of Person Who Prays

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. (Psalm 23:1)

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

I haven't usually thought of the beginning of Psalm 23 as having to do with prayer. Lately, though, God has been teaching me about prayer, so it has been on my mind. Why shouldn't it be about prayer? Prayer is the primary means by which God desires to fulfill my desires.

Prayer is not just about my desires, however. A mistake I have made, though, is that I have often assumed it had nothing to do with my desires. Somehow praying God's will had become mostly praying, "Not my will." My desires need an overhaul, but ignoring them or pretending that they don't matter is not God's way of changing them. He wants to redeem my "wanter" so it is in line with his will.

I see this as having desire that are my own and yet also within his will. I do not think that God merely wants to control me anymore than I merely want to control my children. He wants to teach me and help me grow into Christ-likeness, where all I do is in unity with him and also fully my own.

I felt joyful at the realization that the first part of this growth is realizing that he wants to give and provide for me completely, so that I will have no unfulfilled desire - "I shall not be in want." What else would a loving father want?

Then I understood that the end of the Lord's Prayer may not only be a word of praise, but a recognition that God will answer all my requests because he has the kingdom, the power, and the glory, and he wants to share them with me. He wants to give his kingdom without end, his power without limit, and his glory without diminishing.

Really, I find that God wants pray-ers as well as worshipers (aren't they the same, really?). He seeks those who pray because he wants to give them what they ask for. Whatever barriers I have can be overcome with this desire: to become the sort of person who prays and is answered. This is God's will, his desire, and I can share it with him.

Lord, let these words be written on my heart: "I shall not want" and "For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever." You have so much to give and yet I receive very little. Increase my faith and hope in your good promises. Change my heart into a faithful one that walks with you. Isn't this what belief and trust are really about? To stay with you, I need to know and trust your goodness, Father. Impress such knowledge on me. Amen.

God's Guidance Through Trust

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (Ps. 23:3)

Part of the provision of God as my shepherd is his continual guidance. Perhaps this is the main thrust of Jesus' promise, "I will be with you, even to the very end of the age." (Mt. 28) God's guidance is part of the declaration, "I shall not be in want." (Ps.23:1) I will never want for guidance.

Often I do feel a lack of guidance, however. I feel left alone to figure it all out. Is this God leaving me? There may be times in which he wants me to make a choice with a number of things being "his will," just like I may be pleased if my kids decide to play inside or play outside. I am delighted with both.

More often I have a sense that my problem is not with God hiding, but from my own impatience. "Just tell me what to do!" I want to know the easiest way to get through life and I want to use God's omniscience to pave the way. When I do not receive the kind of guidance I want or think I need, then I ask again or look elsewhere, assuming that God has indeed abandoned me to my own devices.

God's agenda is different. He wants me to become like Jesus. He wants to have an intimate relationship with me. He wants me in the family of the heavens, with the Trinity and all the hosts that live with him. Quick and easy answers do not always fit into his purposes. Love, peace, joy, patience, and strength are not developed in my life through just being told what to do for a pain-free existence.

Although I may be overlooking his guidance, he is near and guiding me. The path he takes me on is not the path of doing it right all the time, but the path of becoming the right sort of person. God wants my heart to change and grow in love, not just for me to do the right things. The path of righteousness is, as Abraham and all other believers have found, a path of trust, of faith. Without trusting God as a caring shepherd for myself, the wandering sheep, I will never find true righteousness developing in my life. Instead I will just want to be "right."

All this is done because God is who he is. It's for his name's sake. He will not abandon me because of what he is like. He will guide me because that is what God does. He will take me on paths of true right-ness because that is what he is like. He is truth. He is right. He chooses to do it through loving trust and relationship rather than through coercion or mere command.

Lord, I find myself trying to do what is right, trying to find my way, without drawing close to you. I want answers without trust. I know because I do not wait expectantly. When I become desperate, let me learn how to wait quietly for you to find me, my Shepherd. Amen.