I Shall Not Lack

Psalm 23:1 THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.
When David says I shall not lack, he is saying I shall not be short of anything, be deficient in anything, have too little of something, or be missing anything in my life. Because we have a Shepherd who is concerned with our physical well-being, our mental  state, and our protection we can confidently declare- I shall not lack. Not, I might not have lack in my life, maybe God will provide for me, or sometimes my needs are met. No! I will not have anything missing or absent in my life! We’ve talked about this before- how God will supply for us everything we have need of. How many of us can look back throughout our lives and know that God has truly kept this promise? The answer should be all of us. God will always provide for our needs. I heard my husband once say, “Let’s say you were asking God for a Filet Mignon and you ended up with hamburger that night for dinner. That doesn’t mean God didn’t come through for you. You were able to eat and you didn’t starve, so God did provide for you. Even when we may not understand how our needs will be met, we can trust that we will not lack.
Think of Abraham in Genesis 22. Following the instruction of the Lord, he took his son Isaac up to make an offering to God. His son got a little nervous because he didn’t see the sacrifice. In verse 8Abraham said, My son, [God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering. So the two went on together. You probably know the story, but Abraham got ready to sacrifice his son, God said stop and in verses 13-14 13Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering and an ascending sacrifice instead of his son!  14So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided.  This was the first time Abraham saw God as Jehovah Jireh- The Lord God my Provider, but not the last.
We need to understand that the God who provided for Abraham is the same God that will provide for you and me. What comes to mind is Philippians 4:19 And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. We just need to see Him as Jehovah Jireh in our lives.

The Provider of Daily Bread

Matthew 6:9-13  9Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.   10Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.   11Give us this day our daily bread. 12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors.  13And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

The next part of this prayer says- Give us this day our daily bread. In the Aramaic translation of the Bible it says- Give us bread for our needs from day to day. God is a God of provision. Do you remember the children of Israel wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years? In Exodus 16 it says that God made manna or bread from heaven to appear each day for the people to eat.  They were only allowed to gather what they could eat for that particular day.  If they took too much it would go bad, but every morning new manna was on the ground. One of the greatest things we can learn from this story is this- The Israelites took 40 years to go somewhere that they should have been in a couple of weeks. God’s best plan would have been for them to be in the Promised Land a little quicker, but because of their disobedience, grumbling, complaining, etc…  they spent many years in the dusty, dry, desert. God provided for them for all of those 40 years. Their clothes didn’t wear out, their shoes didn’t wear out. They had food when they were hungry, water came from rocks when they were thirsty.  Their bad attitudes had no bearing on whether God took care of them, and just as God took care of the Israelites all those years ago, He takes care of us.  When we pray and ask Him to meet our needs, we are keeping ourselves in remembrance that He is our source.

Be encouraged that whether you’ve made some mistakes, had a bad attitude, been disobedient to the voice of God, He is still your provider and if you ask Him He will still give you your daily bread.

Take The Gloves Off

‘ve interrupted our study of the Lord’s prayer for this very important inspiration. Let’s just be honest, if you look at the things going on around us in the natural, you might be feeling a little discouraged. The economy is wacked, financial institutions are going bankrupt, unemployment is up, gas is $4 a gallon, the stock market doesn’t look too great etc, etc, etc….. Guess what? I’ve looked around me, and decided I don’t really care!  Let me explain myself. I do care that people I know and love are struggling to pay their bills.  I do care that I have dear friends who have lost everything they have. I do care that we have members in our church who are wondering what to do next. What I don’t care about is what it looks like. My Bible tells me in Philippians 4:19 19And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. My Bible tells me in Matthew 14 that Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and fed thousands of people, not only supplying their immediate need, but leaving them with an abundance of twelve basketfuls left over. My Bible tells me that the lilies of the field and the birds of the air take no thought of what they will wear and what they will eat, our Heavenly Father has taken care of them and doesn’t He love us more?  My Bible tells me in Genesis 22 that He is Jehovah Jireh- The Lord who provides. My Bible tells me a lot, but your Bible tells you the exact same things. The question is, will you choose to believe what the Word says, or will you continue to look at the circumstances of life to tell you what you believe?
In Ephesians 6:12-13 it says  12For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.  13Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Once we understand that our fight is not in the natural it’s in the spirit we will be better equipped to stand our ground. Sometimes we have to fight with everything we have, but the great news is-He always causes us to triumph. I am going to include an excerpt from an email I received yesterday from one of our ministry directors- We can’t control the economy or the powers that be but we can control the prayers, worship and intercession that goes up. The devil can’t stop that although he is desperately trying. It feels like the devil has us in a chokehold anxiously awaiting us to “Tapout” but I am tired of living without. I have been blessed , I have overcome, I am an heir to the throne of God , I am a royal priesthood , I am a peculiar people , I am more than a conqueror, I could go on but you get the picture. I am fighter, I am a warrior for the kingdom of God and if we are in the ring with the devil I say lets ” take the gloves off ” he is not going to fight fair so why should we? Let’s encourage each other thru this time. Let’s fight with one hand and build with the other. Nehemiah did it so can we. Now is not a time to hide but to rise up and fight. I know it is not easy but we still have to believe in the promise of God. He is our source. God is faithful and he has proven faithful. The fight is on don’t “Tapout” God is about to give us a second wind. Take the gloves off and stand your ground.
I would like to invite you to join us next week, beginning Sunday, September 21 at the International Miracle Center Church in Daytona Beach, as we wage war on lack. We will be meeting nightly at 7:00pm. If you can’t be there in person you can still be a part via our webcast at imcchurch.org. Keep standing strong. You are more than a conqueror!