Psalm 23:1
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
This week, take time to go deeper by meditating on the Scripture from Sunday’s sermon and prayerfully applying it to your life. Use these questions to guide your reflection in a journal or notebook.
Note: In everyday use, we often connect the word want to our desires—what we wish to have. However, the Hebrew phrase “I shall not want” means “I shall not be in need.” Even so, we are driven daily by our desires. Because of the fall, sin has disordered our natural longings, making it easy to confuse our wants with our needs. By the Spirit’s help, we can learn to evaluate our desires in the light of God’s Word.
Reflection Questions
- When Jacob blessed his grandsons, he spoke of God being his shepherd “all his life long” (Genesis 48:15). How have you seen God’s guiding hand and protection in your life?
- List four ways the truth that the Lord is always present and everywhere encourages or challenges you.
- In what areas of your life do you still find yourself “wanting” what God has not given you, rather than trusting the Shepherd? How does God’s presence encourage you to trust Him to provide what you need instead of focusing on what you do not have?
- This week, how can you intentionally cultivate remembrance of the Shepherd’s presence and care, leading you to greater trust? List two practices you can begin today.
- Read John 10:1–18. Is Jesus your door into the flock of God and your personal Shepherd? If so, how and when did you enter through that door by repentance and faith? To what extent did you recognize yourself as a lost sheep in need of a Shepherd? In what ways do you still need to see yourself as a sheep who depends on Him?
- What are your three most pressing needs—not wants? Write them down and bring them to the Lord in prayer, thanking Him that in Jesus you lack nothing you truly need.
- Write a personal prayer based on what you learned from Sunday’s sermon on Psalm 23:1.