24 March - I shall not want
24.3.18
"The heart wants what it wants.”
A famous celebrity declared when he was criticised for making poor moral choices.
"I want…." Sigh. From time memorial, it is desire that has gotten a person into trouble.
A famous celebrity declared when he was criticised for making poor moral choices.
"I want…." Sigh. From time memorial, it is desire that has gotten a person into trouble.
The first time you discipline your child, it is likely because he or she is wanting something and wailing for it.
If only Eve (yes, it was her first!) did not lay her eyes on the fruit and found the though of gaining wisdom desirable. (Genesis 3:6) She wanted wisdom. She shared the fruit with Adam and in so doing poisoned her husband and the rest of mankind. Ever since, man’s desire for wisdom is insatiable.
If only David did not see the UFO from his roof top - an "unclad female object" (2 Samuel 11:2). It was an ancient form of pornography. The longer he looked the more he needed desired the object. Indeed that was how he saw her: an object to fulfil his sexual desires. He wanted her. Roused to passion, those desires were unstoppable. That sparked a chain of murder, lies, sin and pain that brought much sorrow to all around him. No least, himself. And the consequences continued to the next generation.
How about Judas? As we will hear at Maundy Thursday Service, he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:15). Scholars will say that it is about USD $200. Imagine. Whether it was money or desire for something else, desire again reigned.
This is an amazing Psalm, all of it. My apologies for getting stuck at and being struck by the first line:
If only Eve (yes, it was her first!) did not lay her eyes on the fruit and found the though of gaining wisdom desirable. (Genesis 3:6) She wanted wisdom. She shared the fruit with Adam and in so doing poisoned her husband and the rest of mankind. Ever since, man’s desire for wisdom is insatiable.
If only David did not see the UFO from his roof top - an "unclad female object" (2 Samuel 11:2). It was an ancient form of pornography. The longer he looked the more he needed desired the object. Indeed that was how he saw her: an object to fulfil his sexual desires. He wanted her. Roused to passion, those desires were unstoppable. That sparked a chain of murder, lies, sin and pain that brought much sorrow to all around him. No least, himself. And the consequences continued to the next generation.
How about Judas? As we will hear at Maundy Thursday Service, he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:15). Scholars will say that it is about USD $200. Imagine. Whether it was money or desire for something else, desire again reigned.
This is an amazing Psalm, all of it. My apologies for getting stuck at and being struck by the first line:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
What a difference life will be if instead, we let Him shepherd us. For if so, "we shall not want.” There is a deep satisfaction that comes knowing, loving and serving Jesus. This path keeps our basal desires in check, allowing us to pursue the calling to bear the imago dei in our lives.
Have you lost your way? Are there unfulfilled dreams, broken promises? Do you feel like a helpless prisoner chained in the dark dungeons of your desires?
What a difference life will be if instead, we let Him shepherd us. For if so, "we shall not want.” There is a deep satisfaction that comes knowing, loving and serving Jesus. This path keeps our basal desires in check, allowing us to pursue the calling to bear the imago dei in our lives.
Have you lost your way? Are there unfulfilled dreams, broken promises? Do you feel like a helpless prisoner chained in the dark dungeons of your desires?
It is still not late.
Return to the Shepherd.
Return to the Shepherd.
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