![The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview. [File photos | News Bulletin]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-571315dc-3de6-04fa-e053-0100007f7ff1-b750a470.jpeg)
People do a lot of rushing around in life pursuing the quest for things like recognition, high dollars and fancy possessions. They kill themselves, literally and figuratively, in these pursuits.
These pursuits can have a very detrimental effect on life. They can cause people to never be truly satisfied with what they have or who they are. They are always on the hunt for the next treasure that can be pursued or won.
As this happens, focus gets skewed and misaligned. What is important gets lost in the shuffle. What is truly needed is missed completely — even by the best of persons.
Because we often let ourselves wander from what God wants from our lives, it is good for us to remember where our focus needs to be in order to find true life.
For the next several weeks, I will share some thoughts on the 23rd Psalm. This is a very short psalm, only six verses long. But it is very powerful and packed with meaning that helps put, and keep, things in proper perspective.
David starts this psalm with a very telling statement: Because the Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. Notice he doesn’t say “If I let the Lord be my shepherd,” or “When I remember he is my shepherd.” He makes a declaration that the Lord is his shepherd.
It’s not like David is weighing the pros and cons of such an arrangement with God, and working out a deal to acquire something he wants. It’s not like he is saying when he pays attention to God that he has everything he needs.
No, he is saying because God is his shepherd. He is saying that God is central in his life and he lives for God. And because he has made God central in his life, he is satisfied.
There is nothing more he needs. There may be more he wants, but he has everything he needs, everything that is important, everything that provides true meaning in life.
God is sufficient for the needs in your life. God provides. If you should ever feel a restlessness settling in that causes you to want more and more, it would be good to make sure the Lord is your shepherd. He provides for you.
He provides everything you need to truly be fulfilled in this life.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Like David, recognize God as your shepherd