“The Lord Is My
Shepherd”
Psalm 23 may be
the most-beloved, most-sung, and most-preached in the Psalter. Most of us in
this room were touched, comforted, and encouraged by this Psalm once or more.
And probably, there would be thousands of different ways to interpret and
preach this famous psalm. Over the past few weeks, I have meditated on Psalm 23
almost everyday. Last week I attended Stewardship Leaders Academy
When you read or
think of Psalm 23, what word comes to your mind first? One of the core themes
of Psalm 23 would be “contentment.” The psalmist begins his song of praise in
this way: “The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing” (CEB). Or “I have all that
I need” (NLT). We find “contentment.” We find the God of abundance here in this
verse. Let’s take a moment to think about the characteristics of sheep. In his
book, the Way of the Shepherd, Kevin Leman describes ten characteristics
of sheep. First, Sheep have bad sight. So the shepherd bells the leading group
of the sheep for the entire herd. Second, sheep are foolish. They seem to only
know how to do one thing well – eat grass. Third, sheep easily fall. Fourth,
sheep are easily “cast” – flipped over on their back. Fifth, sheep are unable
to right themselves. They will die of starvation if not turned over by
shepherd. “Helpless.” Sixth, sheep are
selfish and stubborn. Seventh, sheep have no sense of direction. Eighth, sheep
go back the way they had come. Ninth, sheep are defenseless and vulnerable.
They can only run. Tenth, sheep become silent in the face of death. Sheep need
a shepherd. When they have a good shepherd, they are content. They are not
concerned about what to eat, what to drink, where to go, or how to protect themselves,
because those are the shepherd’s responsibility. All they do is to enjoy fellowship
with the shepherd. All they need is their shepherd. The shepherd will feed
them, guide them, protect them, and provide them all they need. “Contentment.”
Simplicity
We confess that
the Lord is our shepherd. But in everyday life, many of us don’t experience the
God of abundance. We don’t feel content. Why? It is because contentment must be
cultivated. It is not automatically given to us. God is always with us. But
oftentimes we don’t feel the presence of God. We need to practice the presence
of God. We need to cultivate our sensitivity to his presence. In the same way, contentment
can be cultivated, especially through three spiritual practices: simplicity,
gratitude, and generosity.
The first key
to contentment is to cultivate simplicity. There
are the voices that are constantly telling us we need more, better, and newer. In
his book Enough, Adam Hamilton suggests, “We live counterculturally by
actually living below, not above, our means; that we build into our budgets the
money to buy with cash instead of credit.”[1]
According to him, “living simply” means choosing to live below our means. For
me personally, his suggestions, “use cash/debit cards instead of credit” was
very helpful. I didn’t think much about credit-card use at first. But then, I realized
that I had 7 different credit cards; 5% discount here; 6% cash back rewards
there; I thought I got benefits from credit cards. But it was not. I realized that
I was actually encouraged to spend more than necessary. So last week I talked
to my wife, Joyce, about this, we closed all the credit cards except one for
emergency. We decided to use cash or debit cards for our purchases. That
decision itself brought joy, freedom, and contentment. There is power in
simplicity. Are there any changes you can make related to your hobbies, job,
home, car, or other possessions that would allow you to simplify your life?
Please think about it.
Gratitude
The second key
to contentment is to develop a grateful heart. Pastor
John Ortberg says there are four words we should say whenever we find ourselves
discontented with something or someone: It could be worse.[2]
Recently, within a week I had to make two trips to Boston Stewardship Academy Clinton Lincoln
Generosity
The third key
to contentment is to cultivate generosity. God is
the source of all we have and all that we are. Psalm 24:1 says “The earth is
the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it!” And God
is a Giver. God created humans in his own image, therefore we are designed to
be givers! We are created to experience true joy and contentment when we give. Giving
is an essential part of Christian discipleship. We define our priorities,
values, and what we love through our giving. We often ask how much we should
give to God. I think our spiritual ancestors probably had the same question. So
God offered a minimum standard to measure their response: the tithe (Deut.
26:1-11). During Stewardship Academy Warren Warren Warren
“You Are with
Me!”
Which
"tent" will you live in— discon-tent-ment or content-ment?[4]
We are the ones who determine which "tent" will be ours. Contentment
comes through our simple lifestyle, our gratitude to God, and our generosity.
But there is always “fear” within us. The voice of fear says that we will not
be enough. In Numbers 13 twelve spies explored the Promised Land for forty
days. Ten of them gave a bad report. They said, “We went into the land, and it
does flow with milk and honey. But giants live there. We cannot attack them!”
They saw the Promised Land but focused more on the giants. As a result, they
gave in to their fears. Joshua and Caleb explored the exact same land, but they
gave a totally opposite report. They said, “The land we explored is exceedingly
good. If God is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. God is with
us!” They also saw the giants but focused more on God who is with them. As a
result, they were able to overcome fear and enter the Promised Land. The
psalmist does the same confession of faith: “Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me!” What
do you see – giants or God-with-us? My prayer is that all of us in this room
will be Joshuas and Calebs who trust God and experience the abundant life that
he promised. Amen.
“Wesleyan Covenant Prayer” [UMH #607]
I
am no longer my own, but thine.
Put
me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put
me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let
me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted
for thee or brought low for thee.
Let
me be full, let me be empty.
Let
me have all things, let me have nothing.
I
freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.
And
now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou
art mine, and I am thine.
So
be it.
And
the covenant which I have made on earth,
let
it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
Amen!
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