July 20, 2022

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:1-3

Dissatisfaction seems like a plague in our current era. There is almost always some new update, new outrage, new solution that will fix everything that is wrong in the  world. As Christians, we are not immune to this either; we walk around with the U2 lyric “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for…” rattling in our brains and humming in our ears. Psalm 23 doesn’t draw us towards dissatisfaction as a virtue but instead points out the path for believers to be differently satisfied. We experience dissatisfaction when we see the world around us according to our lack - however, when we experience the inward draw of God’s Holy Spirit uniting us to Christ we are differently satisfied as we begin to see our daily experiences placed into context of God’s merciful Lordship. Knowing his character, we look to see not just where we are, but where he is leading us. Even when our present circumstances fall short of green pastures and still waters, we rest in the promise that our present will inevitably lead to restoration of our souls, and our grasp of righteousness by His Holy Spirit. As Paul so plainly states in Romans 8:28–29: We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Dr. Calhoun observes: “David does not pray that the Lord will be his shepherd, but he confidently and joyful affirms that the Lord is his shepherd.” 

-Matt Allhands