I shall not want

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

"Want what?" I said to myself as a six-year-old. "Food? Friends? Fun vacations?" It took me a while (even as a Smart Church Kid) to realize that this lovely KJV phrase means I shall not be in need, not I shall not have unmet desires. A slight difference, no?

The first reminds us that with God as our protector, we'll lack nothing that is necessary . . . with "necessary" determined by the wise Shepherd himself, not by the sheep. The second rather treats God like a candy machine.

God knows what I desire, what I need, and how the twain shall meet (or not). Either way, I shall not want. And this is forever true because the Lord-- not cruel tyrant, not a weak though well-meaning mortal, but the everlasting God-- is my shepherd.

{image credit: The Dogs Blogs}