¹The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, ³He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. ⁴Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:1-6 NIV).

 

We can trust His goodness, guidance, and shepherding care to do more for us than we could ever achieve on our own. God provides a way for us to develop an intimate, conversational, obedient relationship with Him so that we can lead ourselves and others into a “Psalm 23” quality of life. Those, whose shepherd is the Lord, lack nothing.  He is Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord-Who-Provides.

 

Jesus teaches His disciples to ask for provision, and our dependence on God is affirmed each time we pray, ¹¹give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11 NKJV). ²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:25-26 NIV). ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ¹⁹My God will meet your every need out of His riches in the glory that is found in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6 & 19 NIV).   We are not to worry about food or clothing for the Father knows our needs. He desires covenant relationship with us, and that involves trusting Him to meet our daily requirements and seeking first His kingdom and righteousness.

 

¹⁴But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14 NIV).

 

God differentiates between our needs and our wants and the Bible warns against the accumulation of wealth and encourages us to seek spiritual riches instead. This world is not our home and that part of what we need is to shift our focus to the eternal life while still living this one. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also (Matthew 6:20-21 AMP). ²⁵From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” ²⁶“From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ²⁷“But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours” (Matthew 17:25-27 NIV). Money is the currency of the world whilst anointing is the currency of the Kingdom of heaven.  

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Despite almost overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some people still believes money brings happiness.  Rich people craving even greater riches can be caught in an endless cycle that only ends in ruin and desperation. How can you avoid the love on money? Paul gives us some principles: (a) realize that one day riches will all be gone, (b) be content with what you have, (c) watch what you are willing to do to get money, (d) love people and God’s work more than money and (e) freely share what you have with others. ⁶Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. ¹¹But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness (1 Timothy 6:6-11 AMP).

Rather than desiring to heap riches upon ourselves, the biblical model is one of giving, not receiving. ⁶But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:6-8 NKJV).

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We are also encouraged to be good stewards of what God has given us. The steward owns nothing, but is in a position of authority as if he or she is the owner of it. Our purpose and calling is to finance the advancement of the Kingdom of God. ¹He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. ²So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward. ³Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. ⁵So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred [c]measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. ⁹“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous [d]mammon, that when [e]you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. ¹⁰He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. ¹¹Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? ¹²And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? ¹³“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon”(Luke 16:1-13 NKJV).

God established the nation of Israel to be the source of truth and salvation to the entire world.  His relationship to His people was loving, yet firm. God was their direct leader in government, social concerns and worship. Israel’s newly formed nation models for us the need to depend upon God. Whether we are rebellious or obedient, God remains our only source of absolute, eternal truth and life.

¹¹No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11 NIV). This verse carries a reminder that there is a part we play in God’s provision coming to fruition in our lives. We must walk uprightly.​​​