Divine Contentment

UV 1754/10000 Divine Contentment
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23 v 1

A modern day version of this uni-verse would read: “The Lord is my shepherd and there is a hell of a lot of things I want and after that heaven, too.” Instead of making God a mere need-satisfier or love Him in an utilitarian way for what He gives us in the expectation of getting even more, we need to enter into a state of “Not wantingness” every day where we celebrate the Lord for who He is – a great Shepherd who leads us and feeds us, a great Shepherd who gave His life for the sake of His sheep, a great Shepherd who is with us and would never fail us or forsake us. “Not wantingness” is divinely inspired contentment. It is an attitude that we have all we need for the Lord has provided and He will provide. It is an attitude of continual thanksgiving for every blessing received. Our prayers should not be a litany of requests or a wish list that we submit to the Lord but an expression of our deepest feelings for the One who did not hold back anything or anyone from us.

“Not wantingness” is an attitude of total and complete security knowing that the Lord is with us as Immanuel. He will never desert us or disappoint us. He is able to do far more than we can ask or even think of. Once we give Him priority in our lives, everything else will follow us. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us, catch up with us and overtake us. We need not chase the goodies as the good Lord is with us. Goodness and mercy lie in His wake and go ahead of Him. The Lord knows what our needs are and that it differs from individual to individual. He answers us even before we ask for them. He knows our deepest desires but we need to lie in His arms and stay in His presence like a child who has been weaned and lies in her mother’s arms.

Even if the Lord has made us rich, we should not place our confidence in these riches. Both our joy and our security stem from knowing the Lord as our own Shepherd. We do not look for greener pastures but are content to feed wherever He leads us. We do not want to keep up with the Joneses or regard others as competition with whom we should keep up with. We do not compare our lot or the portion of blessings we have received with that of others. We do not worry about the future and its stock of provision as we live day by day, trusting in the Lord. We need to practice “Not wantingness” at least once a day for half an hour where we adore the Lord for who He is and ask not a thing or request Him for nothing either for ourselves or others.