Prepare The Way Movement

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” — Psalm 23:1 (KJV)

What does it mean to say, “I shall not want”? It’s one of the most quoted lines in all of Scripture, yet few pause long enough to consider the depth and freedom hidden in that simple phrase. The Lord is my Shepherd. Therefore—I shall not want. It is a declaration. A reality. Not a goal to strive for, but a truth to rest in.

But we ask—Want what?

Our minds immediately start cataloging. We think about our daily needs, our goals, our ambitions, our secret desires. We reason with ourselves: Is it wrong to want to be successful? To want to provide for my family? To want to enjoy good things? To desire love, stability, or healing? These wants seem valid. Reasonable. Even noble.

But the error we fall into isn’t always in what we want—but in wanting itself.

We tend to focus on the object of desire—judging whether it is good or bad, selfish or generous. A promotion at work? That sounds good. It could bring more income, and with that, the ability to provide and perhaps even give more generously. A wager on a sporting event? That might be a gamble rooted in greed or risk. One desire looks noble; the other appears reckless.

Yet this kind of moral filtering of desire misses the deeper issue. The psalmist doesn’t say, “I shall not want bad things.” He says simply, “I shall not want.”

The heart of the message is not about measuring the worthiness of our desires, but about surrendering the posture of needing anything other than God Himself. When we live in the reality that the Lord is our Shepherd, need is extinguished. Because the Shepherd is not only watching over us—He is the source of every good and perfect gift. He gives what is necessary, withholds nothing that is truly good, and leads us exactly where we’re meant to be.

“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap… yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” — Matthew 6:26 (KJV)

God provides for the birds—and yet we are of more value to Him than many sparrows. Why, then, do we carry the burden of anxious desire? Why do we scheme, stress, and strain to secure the things we think we lack?

Want, in its raw form, signifies lack. But the Kingdom of God operates differently than the world. In God’s Kingdom, lack is an illusion for the one who walks with the Shepherd. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” — Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

If we are with the Shepherd, what could we truly lack? If we are following the One who makes us lie down in green pastures, then surely He knows what we need—and more importantly, when we need it.

Often, the Lord places desires in our hearts not to incite striving, but to invite trust. He provides the vision, and in time, He provides the provision. But our flesh confuses this. We grow impatient. We try to force the outcome. We believe that we must hustle to get what we need. And in doing so, we begin to want again—grasping for what has not yet been given, rather than resting in what has already been promised.

We cannot forget: the Shepherd leads. He does not drive. He does not shout from behind. He walks ahead of us and invites us to follow in peace. If He has given us a desire that is in line with His heart, He will fulfill it. If not, we can trust that what we didn’t receive was not truly for our good.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” — Psalm 84:11 (KJV)

He withholds no good thing. Not one.

So when we hear “I shall not want,” it is not a scolding. It is an invitation. A release. A call to stop grasping and start trusting. To lay down the fear of missing out, the worry of falling behind, and the illusion that we are in control of our own provision. The Shepherd is the caretaker. We are the sheep. The Shepherd feeds, protects, directs, and tends. The sheep follow.

That’s it.

The question then becomes: Is He enough for us? Is He enough even if the promotion never comes, if the healing is delayed, if the relationship doesn’t restore, if the dream doesn’t unfold the way we imagined? Can we still say, “I shall not want”?

We can. Because the Shepherd is not just the giver of gifts. He is the Gift. He is not just the way to life—He is the Life. Not just the truth-teller—He is the Truth.

When we recognize that the only One worthy of desire is the Lord Himself, and that He has already given Himself fully to us, then the striving ends. Peace enters. The soul rests. We no longer try to determine whether our desires are “good enough” to chase. We let go of the chase entirely, and instead cling to the Shepherd who leads us beside still waters and restores our soul.

Want dies in the presence of the Shepherd. And in its place, joy lives.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Say it again. And this time—believe it