In today's world, how is a contented life possible? We are surrounded by wars, price rises, diseases. Stress levels have skyrocketed in recent years in almost everyone's life. How do we manage stress? How can we be calm and content in this world?
In the coming weeks we will study Psalm 23 in a little more depth. Verse by verse we will look at what God wants to teach us through the writer of Psalm 23.
In our first part we will focus on the first vers.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1
David, the writer of the Psalm
Maybe you're at a very difficult stage in your life right now and you're worried about what tomorrow will bring. What you need most is HOPEfor the future. To do this you need to look to God with confidence that He has a good plan for your life and is able to help you. THE WORD OF GOD IS NOT MODERN, NOT ANCIENT, BUT ETERNAL. David wrote it thousands of years ago, and it still speaks to us today, because the protagonist of the Psalm is still alive today. His name is JESUS.
The Psalm was written by a king who started life as a shepherd. It was a success story, but David's life had a lot going on, just like any of our lives. The Psalm shows that he knew the life of the sheep very well and knew what a good shepherd was like.
For a long time, scholars thought that King David never existed, that he was a fiction. However, the Tel Dan inscription, or "House of David", was discovered in 1993 at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel, during an excavation led by Israeli archaeologist Avraham Biran. This was evidence that King David was indeed a living person.
Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved and least believed Psalms in the Bible. Many of us can learn it, almost recite it without a book, but when we get into trouble we forget it. At such times we cannot believe, but look to our circumstances. In the next few weeks it would be good to make a decision that whatever our circumstances show us, whatever life brings us, we will believe the Word instead.
What is contentment according to the Bible?
Every member of humanity, consciously or unconsciously, has been searching for the secret of happiness for thousands of years. Unfortunately they are looking in the wrong places and many are not really happy, or for a while they feel happy, (as long as they have love, money, success, . . .) but when these are lost, then comes despair and hopelessness. The reason why there are so many unhappy people in the world is because they don't know what CONTENTMENT is.
Contentment is highly valued in the Bible. "Great indeed is the profit of godliness WITH CONTENTMENTbecause we have brought nothing into the world, we cannot take anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, let us be content with that." (1 Timothy 6:6-8).
The apostle Paul says in Philippians, "INot that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be CONTENT . I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phil 4:1-13).
This does not mean that we should be lazy physically or mentally and not strive for more. No, but it does mean to have a contented state of heart, otherwise WE CAN NEVER ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE. The devil leads many people into a vicious circle, where the main goal is always to have more, and we are always working, and there is no sense of satisfaction in our hearts. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly." This Psalm describes this abundant life.
THE LORD AS SHEPHERD
How many people do you know who are really content? Today's Psalm is about a contented person. You say it's easy for him because he was king and rich. I too would be content if I owned a country.
The truth is that this is a naive idea. A king can also have problems in life. David knew heartache and went through many trials. He had 4 sons killed, people tried to kill him, abused him, betrayed him, deceived him.. . If you think you'll be contented when you have a lot of money, or a partner, or a marriage that works out, you're very wrong.
God blesses you with something because that's the way He is. He loves us very much and often gives us things we didn't expect. God takes care of the details. We get what we wanted, we get a new phone, or a new washing machine, a new car, and we are very happy about it for a while, but then the joy stops and we want more and more and more. e.g. our children, when we buy them a new toy, a toy car, and they are very happy about it for a while, but then they get bored.Of course, they are children. We are adults, we are more intelligent than them. 
The source of contentment
The reason we are not permanently contented is because we are looking for contentment in the wrong place. The human heart is such that physical things cannot permanently satisfy it. The reason we are always hungry for something new is because REAL CONTENTMENTcan only be found in a personal relationship with God. Blaise Pascal:"There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man, which can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, revealed through Jesus Christ." Therefore, according to the Bible, true contentment DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
The Lord. The first verse could be emphasized word by word. Not a Lord, but THE LORD. The only God who truly rules over all of creation, even over Satan.
4 important qualities that IS UNIQUE TO THE LORD:
- Omniscience. "Lord, you searched me and know me. You know that if I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and befor, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain it." (Psalm 139:1-6) God knows the future. It is comforting.
- Omnipotent. Can he do anything? No, because he can't lie, he can't behave wickedly, unjustly HOW GOOD! God can do whatever He wants. Sarah laughed, the Lord replied, "Is there anything impossible for the Lord?"
- Omnipresent. Negative: there is no hiding from God. Luther: Coram Deo (to live our lives before God). Positive: God is with us in our most difficult trials, in our greatest sufferings. He is always present everywhere and oversees our lives.
- Eternal. Always has been and always will be. Man is semi-eternal: we have not always been, but we always will be.
This is the Lord with whom we have a relationship, and who CAN HELPwhen we are in difficulty.
God does not need anything, because everything is His. God is happy and content. "In accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted." (1 Timothy 1:11). Because God needs nothing, He is able to satisfy the needs of mankind, and therefore He is able to give and make us happy.
Shepherd.
Jehovah is the Lord who rules the whole universe. Yet David compares the mighty God to a shepherd. The shepherd wants the best for the sheep and does his best to make sure they are well, well fed and growing well. This is the Lord's purpose with His sheep, and He CAPABLE to do so.
In Eastern culture, sometimes a lot of money was paid for lambs. The Lord, the shepherd who owns the lambs, paid a lot to get the lambs. Jesus gave his own life for us on the cross. If you are the Lord's, then Jesus bought you out of the power of sin with His own blood, you are very important to Him and He cares about you.
Jesus not only died in your place, but He is the shepherd of whom the Psalm speaks. Jesus is called the shepherd 3 times in the NTand thus identifies itself with the OT God.
- John 10 – Jó pásztor, aki az életét adta a juhokért. Nem én vagyok a jó pásztor, nem is az, akit hallgatsz a neten, mi csak mellékpásztorok vagyunk, gyarló emberek, akik hibázunk, tévedünk, és bűnbe is eshetünk. Meg is kapjuk ilyenkor a “jutalmunkat.” Az igazi jó pásztor Jézus. YOU WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED IN HIM.
- Heb 13:20-21 - Great shepherd, the risen Lord.
- 1Pet 5:4 - An Chief Shepherd who will come back one day and lead us out of this corrupt world. I believe that day is near. The High Shepherd will soon call his sheep: come to me. Come out of corruption into eternal life.
My shepherd.
David says that he has a personal relationship with this shepherd. The promises of Psalm 23 THEY WILL ONLY BE TRUE FOR YOU IF YOU CAN SAY THAT THE LORD JESUS IS MY SHEPHERD IN PERSON.
It is not enough to say that He is a good shepherd, or a great shepherd, but you have to say with a sincere heart that He is my shepherd, personally mine too, not only Zsolti's, but mine too, because I have a personal relationship with Him and I allow Him to be my shepherd.
(Therefore) I shall not want.
I do not lack for anything. But, Zsolti, how can you say that when I can't pay my bills, I have no partner, my marriage is ruined, I've been fired from my job, or I just got the results from the doctor and it turns out I have a serious illness. How can I say that I am not destitute? By saying. IN JESUS YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU REALLY NEED. Whatever your circumstances, God can satisfy your life.
If Jesus is yours, then everything is yours, God will provide for your earthly needs, which are food, drink, clothing, and a roof over your head. THE OTHER STUFF IS PROBABLY NOT A REAL NEED, BUT A DESIRE. God will not satisfy all your desires, but all your needs.
Encouraging words:
"Do not therefore be anxious, and ask not, 'What shall we eat? - Or: What shall we drink? - Or: What shall we put on? For these things the Gentiles trouble themselves; but your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:31-33). SATISFIES YOUR SOUL AND BODY, but your soul is more important, because if your soul is contented, your whole life will be contented, but the reverse is not true.
"So what do we say to these? If God is with us, who can be against us? Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Himself for us all, how can He not give us all things with Him" (Romans 8:31-32).
HOW TO BE CONTENT
Are you content? Are you satisfied with all the blessings the Lord gives you every day, even though you don't deserve them? Do you always focus on the negative or the positive? Think about the fall, they could ate from every tree except one. And Satan stressed that one thing to man. God has not given you everything because he is jealous or because he doesn't really love you.
Decide today that you will no longer believe your circumstances, but the Word. For example, neuroscientists have discovered that there is a concept that if you focus on it regularly, you will be physically and mentally healthier. What is this one word? GRATITUDE. Big deal. Once again, it turns out that secular science is thousands of years behind the Bible.
The Bible talks a lot about giving thanks. Giving thanks is not only important for God, it is good for us. "My soul is filled with fatness, my lips rejoice and my mouth praises. When I think of you in the morning, I think of you in my bed." (Psalm 63:6-7 KNB).
The benefits of thanksgiving according to science:
- You will move more
- Less stress
- Sleep better
- Emotional health
- Good for your heart (physical)
- You will be a more effective leader
David was an example of faith, but he was not perfect. There was a fateful day in his life when he was not satisfied with what God had given him (Bathsheba). David committed a terrible sin, but when he repented, he found forgiveness from the Lord.
It is the same in your life. Your greatest need is not money, a partner, or physical health, but FORGIVENESS. We have all sinned, and we are in a lot of trouble. If nothing is done about our sins, we will be damned. We need mercy and forgiveness.
This was brought by the good shepherd, Jesus, who gave his life for his sheep. MOST IMPORTANT TREASURE: ETERNAL LIFE.
In the coming weeks, we will look at how a good shepherd looks after his sheep.