The Well

In this episode you will hear the first words of one of the most famous poems in history, the poem of the shepherd. What does it mean to live without want? How can you live as a person of hope instead of a person of want? Enjoy this time with your shepherd.

To learn more about Spiritual Growth, visit saddleback.com/grow . You can also get in touch with us by emailing maturity@saddleback.com

Show Notes

In this episode you will hear the first words of one of the most famous poems in history, the poem of the shepherd. What does it mean to live without want? How can you live as a person of hope instead of a person of want? Enjoy this time with your shepherd. To learn more about Spiritual Growth, visit saddleback.com/grow . You can also get in touch with us by emailing maturity@saddleback.com

What is The Well?

The Well is a guided time with God through prayer and reflection on Scripture. Think of it as your own personal retreat. Brought to you by Saddleback

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” PSALM 23:1 (NKJV)

Hello, this is Brandon Bathauer, Spiritual Growth Pastor at Saddleback Church. Welcome to “The Well” a guided time with God. Think of it as your own personal retreat. This is meant to help you slow down, hear God’s word, listen to Him, and focus on the God who loves you, who wants to talk with you, and who is constantly doing a work in you. (This is day 1 of a 2-week journey through Psalm 23).

This is the opportunity, the call, to spend the next few minutes with your Shepherd, hearing from him, learning from him, and finding rest for your soul.

SLOW DOWN: 2 minutes

To start, get away from screens, from the noise. Whatever device you’re using right now, turn it on “Do not disturb”. Find a quiet place and get settled.

All set? Good, get comfortable, feel free to close your eyes, begin by simply being quiet before God. Let the buzz of all your thoughts and worry clear away.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” PSALM 23:1 (NKJV)
Think about the emotions a dog shows when an owner comes home. Complete excitement. No need to worry, the owner is here, so I have all I need. Or, if you’ve ever seen a baby’s disposition change when the mother picks her up and nestles her close, softly reassuring her that she’s ok. The cry turns to a whimper, then a few deep breaths, then quiet contentment.

The LORD is your shepherd. We’ve been bleating and baah-ing about all we need, but the Shepherd is here now, and the shepherd has everything we need. Take the next few moments to be comforted His presence, take a few deep breaths, and then enter into that quiet contentment.

If it helps, begin by repeating a few times in your mind…

“Jesus, thank you for providing…thank you, Jesus, for providing.” Take the next minute or two to be quiet before Him.

THANKFULNESS: 5 minutes

Thank you, Jesus, for providing.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” PSALM 23:1 (NKJV)
I shall not want. Other translations say, “I lack nothing”.
Your mind may immediately go to all the things you still want, all the things you feel you need, that has not been provided.

But, for now, shift your thoughts from the unchecked boxes to ALL the boxes that have already been checked. Let’s reflect on the Shepherd that provides. The words of the old hymn come to mind “All I have needed, thy hand has provided…Great is thy faithfulness, LORD unto me.”

Think about the way Jesus has heard and answered your prayers. What prayers have you asked recently that He is miraculously answering—if even in the small and ordinary.

Now, think through all the ways He has provided in ways you’ve never asked. What do you take for granted, that you’ve never asked for, but that God provides. We get so used to a roof over our heads, of family, of friends, of food, that we forget we are owed none of this. How has God provided in ways you’ve not even asked for?

Take some time now and talk to God, letting Him know how grateful you are for these things. Thank Him for the ways He’s answered your prayers. Thank Him for the way He’s given even what you haven’t asked.

REFLECTION: 5 minutes

Thank you, Jesus, for providing.

Let’s reflect again on God’s Word.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” PSALM 23:1 (NKJV)
The second part of this statement is dependent on the first. I shall not want ONLY because the LORD is my shepherd.

Now, it is not a wrong thing to want, to dream. Our desires are good things if they have their roots in Him. But this paints the image of a person that is not driven by their wants, but higher values. Imagine being a person fully contented, chasing after God’s will, but free of all the wants that can pull you off track.

See, there is a difference between being a person of Want and a person of Hope. Hope places our desires in the hands of God, while Want is about trying to satisfy our own desires by our own efforts. The person of Want is exasperated, tired, and yet never full. The person of Hope is contented, yet driven. The person of Want says “I deserve and I’m not getting”. The person of Hope says: “Everything is a gift.”

This passage is about being above want. It is about allowing the shepherd to satisfy our true needs so that we can be people of Hope, living for more than just our own comfort, our own desires, our own survival.

What WANTS do you wish to be delivered from? What wants chain you down from being a person of hope?

Even more, what wants drive you to other shepherds to provide? What wants lead you to trust other people, voices, things, powers?

Take some time and reflect on what WANTS may be driving you away from your good shepherd and HIS desire for you…

• The want to be constantly busy and stimulated
• The want to be important, viewed, shared, liked
• The want for perfect comfort
• The want for lack of pain
• The want for acceptance, for people to like me
• The want for more
• The want for numbness
• The want for ease
• The want to have no need
• The want for lack of dependence on anyone
• The want to get by through my own power

Take a few moments to think through your wants, in conversation with your Shepherd.

REQUEST/COMMIT: 3 minutes

Thank you, Jesus, for providing.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” PSALM 23:1 (NKJV)
What would it look like to live today without WANT?

What if each decision today was made not just to satisfy your wants, but to love as Jesus loves, believing that He will satisfy our wants? See, if we can be contented that Jesus will satisfy what we need, we can spend our time focusing outside of ourselves.

This is why Jesus says “Therefore 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…but seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

What if the thing you sought first was not YOUR wants, but Jesus’ wants? The desires of the shepherd will bring the most good to the sheep.

Take some time now and reflect on these things. Wherever your wants have gotten in the way of His, ask for His forgiveness.

Then ask for Jesus to reveal HIS wants for you, today. Ask, “Jesus, I place my wants and needs in your hands. What do you want from ME today?” Then listen.

Thank you, Jesus, providing . Thank you for being the good shepherd that provides, even to the point of laying down your life for your sheep. Thank you that we can rely on you, that you will fight for us, and we only need to be silent. May I not fear, because YOU are the one who helps us. May I no longer be a person of want, but a person of hope. Thank you, LORD, for providing all I need so that I do not need to live in want. I pray, In the name of Jesus, Amen.