Daily Devotional

Do you know the first verse of Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want"? "The Lord is my Shepherd" — this statement goes beyond a relationship, but is a sheeps assurance that the Lord is Master and is in control of where the sheep are led. It talks about surrender; and because the sheep are able to surrender to the Shepherd in trust, wants and lacks nothing.

Why? Because with patience the sheep follows the Shepherd wheresoever He takes him. The sheep knows that when the Shepherd is around there is nothing he wants because the Shepherd provides everything — food, shelter, warmth in winter and refreshment in summer. And the minute the sheep decides to leave the Shepherd, the Shepherd must rescue the sheep from the thicket and the thorn bushes.

What am I getting at today? In order for your life to be perfect and entire, you need to be that sheep that is willing to follow the Shepherd ... patiently. Patience is a steadfast waiting for something to happen. Sometimes we get so eager to do something that we step out of the Shepherds path and into a thorn bush. But patience produces perfect work.

As long as you exercise patience, and you are following your Shepherd, you can be assured that your product, the end result of your patience, your reward, will be perfect.

When you step out of what God wants for your life, that is when impatience steps in, and you end up buying a house that God did not plan for you, or a car that gives endless problems, or a relationship that God never ordained, or a debt you battle to pay.

But with patience you will reach the fullness in Christ Jesus. With patience you will see your hands prosper and your work blessed. Patience, when it is allowed to bear fruit, will give you what you want when God knows you need it. And with that, you will want nothing. And you will lack nothing.