How many of your wants do you still have? To say none of course would be a lie, there is always something, for most in these days many things, materialism will do that to a person.
In the materialistic realm, one thing stands at least partially true, if you do not know an item exists, you cannot covet it. Many of our wants will never be attained, it is that simple, most who desire a Ferrari will not be obtaining one, in the materialistic realm, at least to the person who does not have a propensity for stealing, most items will remain unobtainable, so therein is the question, what have you done with your wants?
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
I have often wondered what was in the mind of the Holy Spirit as He had David pen these words, are we to have no wants because it is the Lord Jesus Himself that is to be the fulfillment of all of our desires, or to have no wants of any kind because it is wrong to? Look at what Psalm 16:11 says, “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” The fullness of joy and pleasures forever more, if these are your wants, then how much does the materialistic world still draw you and why. You may add here 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.”
Is that thing, that materialistic item beginning to lose some of its luster in your eyes, is the want of those items beginning to diminish? Many people have just given up in that area, they work a nine-to-five, so to speak, the massive mansion with a nine-car garage, exquisite vacations to far-away places will always remain wants to them, but how they interpret their lives because of these truths, if indeed they are saved, is the real question. What do you long for the most, Christ or that thing, and if it is Christ, why is that thing still compelling to you, why do those items continue to be a pursuit that you know you will, more than likely, never obtain?
I cannot say for sure; I have not checked for quite some time, but I know that for many years the lottery was the largest money making venture on the planet. It promises to the winner the realized dreams of the wants of their desires, until the money runs out, until that most wanted item needs to be replaced, for the shine of desire has left it. The profit of obtaining the whole world (Luke 9:25) would not be enough for some, for they would yearn for the stars in the sky, everything, everywhere would not fill the lust, for that truly is what it is, for most people.
But I have met some believers in Christ that seem to have just “given up” in this area, those dreams, so to speak, they believe will never be attainable, they dig for themselves a rut, a grave open at both ends, where life is to be accepted just as is, and all those desires are to be viewed as unattainable, they do not leave their minds, but all hope of possessing those items is for the most part gone.
I would ask you to contemplate that verse in Psalm 16:11 for a moment and then ask yourself this question, did that promise come to pass at the cross for you, when the Holy Spirit came to indwell within you, or is it for when you finally die and enter heaven?
Here is where you will find your answer to David’s words in Psalm 23, here is where you will find out the truth of “I shall not want.” The realization of all of our wants is in Christ, we do not have to wait, we need to accept that where we are and what we have is where He wants us if we are in submission to His Word and will in our lives every moment.
When the Lord told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, there was no hesitation in his movements, but his mind, his thoughts, were a different story. All of his wants, his heart’s desires were bound up in that boy, in that place that is reserved for God. “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” (Gen. 22:12) Abraham lost all other desires, save for God that day, and was allowed to not only keep his beloved son, but everything else that he possessed.
When God is the center, the fulfillment, the realization of all of our wants, those things of the world do not automatically disappear from that list of desires, but they diminish so greatly as to have no true hold upon us any longer. This can be a difficult lesson to learn, ask Abraham, but it is one that will move your faith in the Savior to places you never knew existed. Abraham was shown in the way he needed to be shown, for Job, the lesson took a little longer, how long will it take you?
