The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1 : “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Six words carry the full weight of a life without anxiety. I shall not want. Not I shall not suffer. Not I shall not face difficulty. Not I shall not go through dark valleys … because the valley of the shadow of death comes three verses later. But want …the gnawing, restless, grasping hunger for what you do not have … that is the thing David says he is free from.
Because of who the Shepherd is.
A shepherd in the ancient world was not a romantic figure. He was a working man …. calloused hands, knowledge of terrain, intimate familiarity with each animal under his care. He went ahead to find safe pasture. He stayed behind to find the one that wandered. He lay down in the gap of the sheepfold at night so that nothing could enter or exit without crossing over him.
That is the One David calls his shepherd.
The peace of Psalm 23 is not the peace of someone who has no problems. It is the peace of someone who knows who is walking with them through the problems. The green pastures and still waters are real … but so is the rod and the staff, carried through the valley.
You shall not want. Not because life will be perfect. But because your Shepherd is.