There seems to be a scarcity spectrum. To some, scarcity means uncertainty about where the next meal will come from or how the kids will be able to get new clothes for school. To others, scarcity simply means not having a sufficient amount. Like being short 1 egg while in the middle of mixing up some cookie dough. Like not having enough time to complete an assignment for a deadline.
Scarcity: { noun }
Scarcity is the fundamental economic problem of having seemingly unlimited human wants in a world of limited resources...
Scarcity not only applies to finances. It can apply to emotional capacity, relational needs, margin. It also applies to desires and wishes.
I look back on my wishes as a 20 something girl, starting a career job as I moved into an apartment by myself. Though I was fiercely independent, I longed, ached for companionship. I knew that my job was to be fully immersed in the life in front of me. I knew in my head that God was good and I could trust Him to provide a spouse in the right time, but my heart was tired. My prayer life was mostly made up of journal entries and one-word prayers asking, "When??"
Like a good church girl, I had memorized Scripture as a child. I always had a knack for retaining words- syllables sticking my brain, but my heart did not digest their truths. Years later these words of Psalm 23 fell on my heart like warm rain on parched ground.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Some versions say, I shall lack nothing.
In the times of the Bible the shepherd was the one who was fiercely devoted to the welfare of his flock. He'd protect, heal, discipline, lead, and provide nourishment. The shepherd was more invested in the health and prosperity of his flock than any of the sheep. How could a creature whose perspective was so limited, whose mind was so easily distracted, even know how to provide for itself?
There's more to this verse. It's not about contentment or self-discipline or gratitude. It's the peaceful, still admission that my shepherd will supply every need. If there is something I wish for that I do not have, I must trust that either it is not the very best for me, or I must be patient and wait for His timing.
The lions grow weak and weary, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
{ Psalm 34:10 }
What about when my friends all get married and I'm hanging out alone with a book on a Friday night?
I shall not want.
What about when my job makes me feel stuck and I want to be somewhere else?
I shall not want.
When I'm waiting, waiting, waiting and no answer is in sight?
I shall not want.
While it is true that there are unlimited human wants, our Shepherd is not limited. He is also not stingy. He is lavish and generous and gracious and His heart is good. Even when I lack.
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