part 4 of “Jireh”
If you look at the title of this post, you might think that we have already covered this topic. In a way we have and at the same time, we haven’t. We only scratched the surface of this idea of God providing for us. When we looked at how God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son Isaac, we saw that God provided what Abraham needed at that time. We also saw God provide strength for Abraham to do what God asked him to do. God provided Abraham with the strength to take every step of that journey to the mountain.
You might now ask, “what more can there be to cover about God providing what we need?” We need to look at Psalm 23 to answer that question.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” - Psalms 23:1 NLT
This verse does not say “I have all that I want.” This is where we need to talk a little bit more about how God provides what we need. Let’s look at it this way.
Do you remember how when you went to the store with your parents and you would say "Oh, I need this! Oh, I need this and this!" "Can you get this for me?" I remember doing this. But I also remember my parents' response of "No, you don't need that right now or at all.” That response would come with a more stern tone, the more times you asked for something. In those moments at the store, I just thought my parents were being mean and didn't want me to have stuff I needed. But now that I am a parent myself, with four kids, I realize that those things weren't what I needed they were what I wanted and my parents knew that I needed other things besides another toy to break or lose interest in. But there is a difference between what we need and what we want.
These words can sometimes be looked at like they mean we get everything. This is true, we do get everything. However, it's what we need not what we want. The New Living Translation of the Bible says: "I have all that I need" and NIV says "I lack nothing." Let's look at it like this.
A shepherd that is caring for his sheep makes sure that they have what they need. He makes sure that they have food, water, shade, and a place to rest. He makes sure they are protected from all enemies and that all the sheep are with the flock. He keeps watch over them. He loves them.
But sheep also have things that they want. They don't want to go the way that the shepherd wants them to go. They don't want to rest. They don't want to lay down. They don't want to stay. They don't want to eat. They want to do what they want to do. The sheep who have that kind of attitude find themselves in some trouble. They fall into the prowl of a predator. They get fatigued because they refused to rest. They are hungry at the times when they should be moving.
David, who is writing this Psalm, was a seasoned shepherd. He had cared for sheep before and as he writes these words for his readers, he is showing us a picture of who God is, a great provider for His sheep.
God gives us what we need for our life, not what we want. This is where we get it mixed up. We get mad at God in the same way we got mad at our parents in the store for not getting us what we think we need. We get mad at God because He’s supposed to provide for us and He’s not giving us what need. Or is it what we want? This is a good question to ask ourselves.
If we look back at the story of Abraham and Isaac, God provided Abraham with what he needed. But I bet Abraham wanted a few things too. But God gave Abraham what he needed when the time was right. Jesus in the garden before He was betrayed was asking God for a want - to “take this cup from me” (Luke 22:42). But God knew what Jesus needed to do for us because of what we needed - rescue and salvation.
God gives His people what they need. He is a good shepherd. I leave you with Paul’s words:
“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:19 NLT
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