Psalm 23 (2) The Lord is my Shepherd, I SHALL NOT WANT

I Shall Not Want (Psalm 23:1) ‘I shall not lack’ ‘ I have everything I need’
Do you feel that this morning?
God has promised we would not lack anything, so if we feel we are lacking something then there are issues we need to face:

This week we’re going to consider ‘worry’.
Next time we’ll think about ‘complaining v contentment’

Worry then. ‘Why pray when you can worry and take tranquilisers’, says the Wayside Pulpit.
Sometimes we think worry is not a problem for us, or we may think it's just part of our personality.
In truth, worry has devastating effects on us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
We’re going to look at what worry is.. define it, see how it differs from ‘concern’, and look at reasons not to worry.
Then we’re going to think about what we need to do about it. To decide NOT to worry and to let the Shepherd have control.

What worry is.

A. Definition of worry.
Worry is a troubled state of mind that includes anxiety, distress and unease.
Being 'uptight', stressed or impatient (why is that driver in front so slow!!) are symptoms of worry.
The Greek word for worry means to engage in a care worn, anxious fear which robs your life of joy.

B. Worry verses concern.
1. Worry focuses on uncontrollable conditions that cannot be acted on, or is a non-specific nebulous treadmill of false guilt and discouragement leading to depression.
It is usually about issues that affect me, not others.
2. Concern focuses on issues before us which we can usually take action on....specific things.
It is usually about issues that affect others, not me.
There are lots of things we need to be concerned about all day long. We are concerned about our families, about making right decisions, about injustice in the world, to name but a few.

C. Worry is a sin (and Jesus died to save us from our sins).
Matthew 6:25-34:
25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Worry is mentioned 5 times in these verses. Jesus specifically says not to worry in verses 25, 31 and 34.
Luke 12:29:
"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
When we worry we are not trusting the Shepherd.

D. Four reasons not to worry.
1. Worry is unhelpful. It does nothing - it never accomplishes anything or solves anything.
Worry cannot change the past or control the future; it only messes up the present.
2. Worry is unreasonable. It exaggerates your problems, making mountains out of molehills.
…every time you think about an issue it gets bigger and bigger…. and that makes worry a waste of time and energy.
3. Worry is unhealthy.
Here’s a medical view:
Worry causes a person to be "keyed up with nothing to fight or flee and no way to turn off the stress chemicals. You become a ticking bomb that is not allowed to explode - consequently, you may implode. Every system in your body is affected by worry. In addition to raising blood pressure and increasing blood clotting, worry can prompt your liver to produce more cholesterol, all of which can raise your risk of heart attack and stroke. Muscle tension can give rise to headaches, back pain and other body aches. Worry can also trigger an increase in stomach acid and either slow down or speed up muscle contractions in your intestines, which can lead to stomach aches, constipation, diarrhea, gas or heartburn. Worry can affect your skin (rash or itch). It can impact your respiratory system and aggravate asthma. Growing evidence even suggests that chronic worry can compromise your immune system, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, viruses and perhaps even cancer."
The bottom line is our body was not made to worry.
The Old English word for worry is the word "to strangle" or "to choke". That's what worry does - it strangles the life out of you.
None of us were born to worry. The worriers have learned to worry.

4. Worry is unbelief.
Matthew 6:30 says people who worry have little faith.
Worry is a lack of trust in the Shepherd. "I'm not sure God will do His part."
Anytime we worry we are acting like someone who doesn't believe in God. (Vs.32)
We need to understand clearly, and the 23rd Psalm alongside John 10 shows us this….that the Lord who is ‘my Shepherd’ provides for us, protects us, guides us and corrects us.

What we need to do about worry.

A. Confess our sin of worry. Ask God's forgiveness for the times you have worried. Remember you are acting like an atheist if you worry.

B. Decide not to worry. Worry is a choice.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Choose to depend on your Shepherd and not worry about things you cannot control. Since the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.

Remember the definition of worry and concern?
Ask yourself - "Is there anything I can do?"
If there is, do it, if there isn't don't worry about it.

C. Let God be in control. This is the essence of Ps 23
1. Worry is a control issue.
The root behind worry is the fear that you are not in control and it is an attempt to control the uncontrollable, and that is a responsibility God never meant for you to have.
2. Who is in control of your life?
God gives you the choice of who controls your life. You can be in control or God can be in control but God doesn't co-pilot. ….as J.John puts it: let God into the driving seat (rather than the back seat or the passenger seat!).
If you are in control you will worry (and you ought to worry!), but when God is in control you can rest.
3. God has proved He is qualified to be in control. He is the great and good Shepherd.
God ran everything before you were born. He has fed you and clothed you so far. Since God has taken care of me in the past I can trust Him for the future.
He takes good care of the birds and flowers and you are more important to God than they are.
"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
…..Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
"Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?


There is no spiritual pill that you can take, no spiritual experience you can have and no seminar that you can attend that will instantly cause you to stop worrying. To stop worrying you must make a daily, sometimes at first an hourly or even a moment by moment choice to let God be in control.

D. Live one day at a time
Matthew 6:34
34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
1. Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday....and all is well !
2. You can't change the past, you can't control the future so all worry does is mess up today. ‘Tomorrow never dies!’ in your stomach.
3. The future can seem overwhelming. Jesus taught His disciples to pray for enough bread for today. God wants us to break down our time into bite-sized pieces that are called days.
4. Overcoming worry is a daily decision to focus on today. That is so important! It’s about dealing with today, not worrying about tomorrow.

E. Lay it down at the Lord’s feet.
The issue that is before you this morning….lay it down before Him, and leave it there. If it hasn’t resolved, then pray again tomorrow morning. Leave it there again. That’s persistence in prayer. But don’t forget that bit which says ‘with thanks giving’(Phil 4v6). It’s when we learn to be thankful, to praise God, and bless Him for all His love and goodness.. as David does implicitly in Ps 23… that we can move forward.

F. Refocus
As we give thanks we heed the words of Jesus to ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,...and ALL THESE THINGS (the things you fret about) will be sorted for you.
In early 2003, we did ‘City of Gold’ with Winterton Comprehensive School.
It was well rehearsed and when the day of the performance came we had a further afternoon rehearsal before everyone went home for tea except me. I stayed over at the school and had a quiet spell. I had a couple of sandwiches…and wished I hadn’t…because as the time drew nearer I felt really ill! I was bent double with butterflies/stomach cramp. I was worried! Yet there was nothing I could do to change anything, so why worry? It was irrational.
I prayed to God for help. I have prayed similarly on a number of occasions when key events were approaching (such as Circuit Youth Weekends or funerals) when I was showing symptoms of a severe cold during the days before… ‘Lord. You know I can’t do what I must do like this. Please take it away.’ …and He has, thankfully, every time. But this time it was not an illness, it was worry. I was praying for the wrong thing!
‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’.What I simply needed to do was get the focus off myself….and instead, onto the Kingdom ie onto others. To pray for others.
As I did so, praying for the cast, the helpers, those behind the scenes, and the audience (even as they came in), the stomach cramps ceased immediately. Then I looked back for a moment, (as Jesus told us not to do!). And as I focused on myself again the butterflies came back with a vengeance. So I didn’t look back again, and all was well after that, and the performance was a success. (here I say a ‘thankyou’ to those who were praying for me!)
…And as I reflect, I recall a number of occasions in my life where I worried, or allowed myself to become depressed, and wondered why God didn’t answer my prayers to ‘take it away’. He has of course given us the answer:
"Therefore do not worry….But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
“O you of little faith…” !!!

Conclusion:
What are you worrying about right now?
What is keeping you up at night?
When you think about it, what gives you that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach?
Isn’t it time to let God into the driving seat?

Say it over and over until you believe it..
‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’.

(Thankyou Lord that as I have set out to teach others about you, you have taught me so much… I repent of the sin of worry, and I pray that everyone who reads this message above will understand clearly their own failings in this area, and be led to repentance and forgiveness in Christ, and may the Holy Spirit fill us and give us discernment every day to see this temptation coming at us and the power to resist. Praise your name!)