THE SECRET TO A LIFE WELL LIVED

Psalm 23:1b
Bob Bonner
July 30, 2006

Civil wars. Across the globe we find raging civil wars taking place and others about to begin. Of course, we don’t read much about civil wars in the paper or hear of them over the electronic media, but they are a reality. Using or hearing the words “civil war” is frightening because deep down we know that civil wars reveal our inability to bring to or manage peace in our world. All humans, not just the citizens of the great police state of the world, the USA, don’t like to admit failure. But what is an “insurgency,” what are “guerilla rebels” that terrorize their own citizens, but a civil army bent on forcing a nation to submit to its will? If they don’t represent the active ingredients of a militia driving civil war, what are they? Let’s be honest with ourselves. These terrorists may be small in number in comparison to the larger armies of the state, but they are still dividing the hearts of fellow countrymen.

Today, we have civil wars taking place in Dufar, Afgahnistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine. More are threatening to begin, such as in Bolivia, Venezuela, Mexico, Iran, India, Pakistan and others. All the makings are there and the pieces are slowly coming together for more civil wars to begin.

But probably the greatest and longest-running civil war is one that goes almost unnoticed. It’s one that is below the radar of most politicians and world leaders and terrorists. It is this civil war that is the catalyst behind all civil wars. It is the civil war that sometimes rages in the human heart and at other times it is observed by a low-grade restlessness. It is the war between that part of us that lives and wants to continue to live a life of contentment, but finds itself fighting another part of us that is discontent, complaining and whining about injustices and what we don’t have and what we think we deserve. James spells out the problem clearly when he says in James 4:1-3, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

What James is telling us is not anything really new to those who study what the Word of God reveals about each of us. The cause of unrest, the cause of our own soulish civil wars is our selfishness, our arrogant hearts that demand self-glory. We lust after positions of prominence. We are in high-pursuit chases of more possessions, the latest fashions, electronic devices and other toys. We pursue personal pleasures and dreams without concern as to how those pursuits might affect those around us, our spouses, children, grandchildren and even fellow Christians in our church families.

Our world doesn’t help us with this battle either. It only intensifies this restlessness through advertisements that entice us to buy this, spend that and to borrow against tomorrow so we can have what we want today. As potential consumers, we are continually being offered generous incentives, rebates, markdowns, sales packages, and good deals, creating needs within us that we never knew we had. We are seduced into believing that we can’t be happy or live without certain products. Not only that, but the modern philosophical concept of “entitlements” has convinced us that we actually have God-given rights to possess certain things. Hence, the civil war between living content or living resentful of others who have, as illustrated by our whining and complaining, rages on.

Is there any hope of a declared “peace” or a “peace settlement” to this war of soul? Yes, I believe there is. But to discover that peace, we must first understand why we keep on wanting more, but enjoying life less.

According to Dave Roper, the cause for this restlessness is not complicated. He writes, “Simply put: [we struggle with discontent] because we have to. Our seeking is a stirring of an absolute need, one that must be satisfied—our eternal need for God. Every desire, every aspiration, every hunger and thirst, every longing of our nature is nothing less than a deeper desire for God.”

The movie “City Slickers” is one of my favorite movies. Three grown men who have been friends for years have an annual reunion, where they take a one week vacation together doing things that are risky at best. Like running with the bulls in Spain. This particular year they decide to go on an old-fashioned cattle drive. But this time, all of them find themselves in a similar place in life. One of broken dreams, disillusionment and wondering what brings genuine satisfaction to life. Billy Crystal has the lead role and plays one of these three cowboys.

On the cattle drive, Billy notices a weathered old cowboy named “Curly.” From all outward appearance, Curly appeared to have it made. He was content. He knew what he wanted in life and was enjoying it. Billy Crystal’s character envies Curly and wants to know his secret. One day, while punching cattle, Billy rides up to Curly and asks him what his secret is. Curly responds by telling him, “It’s knowing that one thing!” lifting up his index finger, stressing the “one thing.” Curious, Crystal asks, “What’s ‘the one thing’?”. To which Curly responds, “That’s for you to find out!” and then rides off.

G. K. Chesterton not only affirms Roper’s observation about life, but he also answers Billy Crystal’s question about that “one thing.” Chesterton writes, “Even when men knock on the door of a brothel they are looking for God. We were born for His love and we cannot live without it. Here is that “one thing” for which we have been looking all our lives. All that we desire is there, and infinitely more.”

Sometimes our longing, our wanting or our discontent, is fueled by great losses, injustices suffered and broken dreams. King David faced many such situations of broken dreams, loss and injustice. At the time, all of them caused his soul to be awash with discontent and want. However, over time, having worked through many of these very real issues in his own life, he discovered the secret to living the life well-lived in the midst of a harsh and twisted world. If I understand the historical context correctly behind Psalm 23, the old king presently finds himself in the midst of another occasion facing great potential loss. Because his son Absalom is trying to usurp his throne, and Absalom’s men are hunting down David and his men to kill them, the reality of David losing his own life, his kingdom and the lives of his close friends, and/or losing his son Absalom are all too possible. Yet, by now, having grown in his understanding of who God is and how worthy of trust his God is, David declares in Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” He does not say, “I never wanted” but rather, this veteran of life’s hard knocks said, “I do not now, nor shall I want. I will not complain, I will not question God, I will not fear the future.”

Honestly, how does anyone come to this point in life, that one is able to look at any loss or disappointment, and from their heart truthfully declare, “I shall not want?” How does one work through heartache and major disappointments and broken dreams and still, from the heart, declare, “I shall not want?”

David’s secret to a life well-lived amidst a world that is harsh, unfair and twisted is not only stated in Psalm 23:1, but it is further explained throughout this psalm. This morning, we want to continue to uncover more of this secret.

Last time, we looked at what is behind David’s words, “The Lord is my shepherd.” We saw that David was not only making that claim for himself, but is also inviting his audience to put their confidence in the Lord as the manager of their lives. Furthermore, we saw last time, four Old Testament testimonies from men of God, that God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is worthy of our trust.

This morning, we want to finish looking at Psalm 23:1. We begin by picking up where we left off, looking at another significant observation of David calling God “my” Shepherd.

David’s use of this metaphor of God being a shepherd presumes something that most of us take for granted, but some overlook. David calling God, “my Shepherd” presumes that you understand his view of himself and the role we play in this shepherding metaphor. That is, our role is one of being sheep.

Few people really understand the personality of sheep. Hence, it would really help if we understood the nature of sheep, for then, and only then, can we truly grasp our own nature and need for a Shepherd. Allow me to point out four prominent characteristics of sheep.

Number one, God doesn’t call us sheep because we are warm and cuddly. He calls us sheep because we are dumb. Want some evidence? Max Lucado asks, “Have you ever met a sheep trainer? Ever seen sheep do tricks? Know anyone who has taught his sheep to roll over, fetch, sit, stay or heel? Ever witnessed a circus sideshow featuring ‘Mazadron and his jumping sheep’? No. Why? Sheep are just too dumb.”

Furthermore, because sheep do not have a keen sense of smell, left to themselves, they will eat poisonous weeds and die. I wouldn’t call that evidence of being dumb, by itself. But when you add the evidence that even if all the sheep are dropping dead around them from eating the poisonous weeds, and the other sheep continue to eat the poisonous weeds until they all die, now that’s dumb!

Second, sheep are defenseless. Of all God’s animals, the sheep is the least able to take care of himself...no fangs or claws. They can’t bite you or outrun you. They have very little ambition or aggression in their nature. That’s why you never see sheep as team mascots. That’s why you don’t see sheep racetracks or sheep races, where you can bet on your proven sheep.

Third, sheep are dirty. Sheep are, by nature, unclean. A cat, dog or bird can clean itself. Other animals lick, scrape and roll in the grass to cleanse themselves. Not sheep! They get dirty and stay that way. They will remain filthy indefinitely unless the shepherd cleanses them. If he doesn’t pay attention to their wool, and clip the wool out from around their eyes, they will get eye infections from all of the filth carried in their wool, and won’t be able to see.

Finally, sheep are dependent. Because they are defenseless, because sheep are not being abundantly endowed with intelligence and lack the capacity to find food and water for themselves in marginal environments, they must depend upon others to fend for them. If they are going to survive, they need a protector as well as a provider.

It should be obvious by this time that sheep require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care.

After understanding the nature of sheep, is it any wonder why people don’t want to follow someone who considers them sheep?! That’s a real put down. If we had our way, we’d rather be called coyotes. Let’s face it, coyotes possess some amount of intelligence and wit. Coyotes are independent. Coyotes don’t need anybody and they don’t want to follow anybody. We consider ourselves to be more like coyotes than sheep. To be identified with sheep who are typically terrified by loneliness, who would rather follow than lead, who live continually under a sky of anxiety filled with clouds of helplessness...no thanks. I’d rather be a coyote.

Well, some of you may very well be a coyote, because not everyone is truly a sheep of God. Charles Spurgeon rightly states, “No man has a right to consider himself the Lord’s sheep unless his nature has been renewed for the scriptural description of the unconverted man does not picture him as sheep, but as wolves or goats. A sheep is an object of property, not a wild animal; its owner sets great store by it, and frequently it is bought with a great price.”

The Scriptures clearly use the picture of wolves and goats as illustrations of the lost. For this teaching’s sake, I’d add coyotes to that list.

It’s one thing to know that God is the Shepherd and that He is worthy of one’s trust. It’s also good to recognize our role is one of a sheep, even if we don’t like the image it portrays. But knowing those things does not convert you from being a coyote, a wolf or a goat into a sheep. One is only converted into a sheep, one of the Lord’s sheep when you accept yourself for who you are and humble yourself before Jesus, asking Him to forgive you and to be your Shepherd. Accepting yourself for who you really are, means that you admit to yourself that you have many weaknesses and inadequacies. Accepting yourself for who you are is a humbling experience--to admit that you are needy and that you don’t know it all and that you are in control of very little around you. Humbling yourself comes from admitting that you need someone from the outside to protect and provide for you because you don’t have what it takes. To be a sheep, we humble ourselves before Jesus, asking Him to forgive us for our arrogance and rebellion, then invite Him to be our Shepherd or manager.

Keep in mind, the significance of the literary context of this psalm. Psalms 22, 23, and 24 go together, prophetically pointing Jesus Christ as being the Shepherd. Only when one has submitted his or her life to the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior and Lord, can we confidently declare, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Have you done that? If you have, great! If you haven’t, why not? Go back and look again at the testimonies of the prophets as to the very nature of God, the Shepherd. Why would you not want to entrust your life to this kind of protective, providing, healing and watching-over-you Shepherd?

It’s one thing to declare that you are one of the Lord’s sheep, but what’s the evidence? What are some biblical characteristics of our being one of the Lord’s sheep?

According to Jesus, as revealed in His teaching found in John 10:27, we see two tests which reveal whether or not we are His sheep. First, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice.” In other words, we are waiting for, listening for, looking forward to hearing Jesus Christ call to us. This voice of Jesus is not necessarily even an audible voice. More than likely, the Lord’s voice is heard in the Scriptures. His Holy Spirit reminds us of the Shepherd’s instructions with that still small voice that inaudibly speaks to our hearts. As we listen for the Lord’s voice and keep our eye on the Lord through prayer and the study of God’s Word, we give evidence that we are His sheep. Furthermore, like sheep in a desert or wilderness, our very survival depends upon keeping our eye on the Shepherd. A genuine sheep keeps in close contact with the Shepherd.

As we listen for the Shepherd’s voice calling us to do something, Jesus then reveals in John 10:27 a second test as to whether or not we are His sheep. Jesus says, “and they follow me.” In other words, only those who obey the Shepherd’s voice are His sheep. Our worship or the proof of our adoration of the Shepherd is first and foremost revealed in our obedience to the Shepherd’s voice. Christ’s sheep obediently submit to His will.

Typically, sheep yield to the Shepherd who owns them. Sheep know who is the boss. Sheep are obedient. Yes, they may be prone to wander and lacking intelligence, find themselves stuck from time to time, but their desire is to follow their Shepherd.

A third characteristic of a genuine sheep is that the sheep freely relinquishes ownership of self. The sheep’s wool does not belong to the sheep! But to the shepherd. According to 1 Cor 6:19-20, God says, “...you are not your own. For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” In other words, Jesus, the Good Shepherd paid for your very being. You and all that goes along with you belongs to Him. Your wool, which may be your rights to a fair reputation, your right to expect to be treated justly or fairly, your dreams and hopes and expectations, your possessions, your valued relationships, your profession--all of those things are but wool and belong to Him. Because He is the one who ultimately provides for our needs and protects us or keeps us safe and alive, He alone owns the rights to our “wool.”

Not only that, but He also owns the rights to our “skin.” Your skin is different than your wool, in that you can take a sheep’s wool and it will remain alive. But in order to take its skin, the sheep must give up its life. Jesus owns your body, your life, and as this verse states, we are to “glorify God in our bodies.” Maybe, as He did with His first disciples, He will require your very life through martyrdom. Should He do so, relinquishing ownership of your body is evidence that you are genuinely one of His sheep. By the way, He promises to reward you in eternity for that total commitment.

As an older man, having walked many years with the Shepherd, having put God to the test, David learned that when he walks, entrusting himself to the Shepherd, he finds that “I shall not want.” Notice what David does not say here. He does not say, “I have not wanted,” but “I shall not want.” David, in his early years experienced much want, feared for his life and future, lived with much frustration over broken dreams and unreached goals. But as he has matured, David learned that no longer does he have to “want.” By the time he wrote this psalm he had learned the secret of contentment no matter what present circumstances he might find himself in--like being on the run for his life, as an old man, surrounded by friends who are low on supplies, living in the desert. He is presently saying, “I do not now nor in the future, will I want, because I have come to better know my Shepherd. I have learned to choose to take what He brings and to be satisfied in what He has given me, rather than to complain or question or debate God with-- “Why? Over time, I have realized that God is good and His ways are best, even though at the moment I may not have a clue as to what He is doing.”

Let’s take a moment to consider what this word “want” means and does not mean. “Want” is not necessarily the same thing as having a “need.” It is absurd to assert on the basis of this statement that the child of God, the sheep in the Shepherd’s care will never experience a need. Just look at David and his times of deep personal and acute hardship and fear and anguish of spirit. To “shall not want” is the state of contentment which follows knowing the Shepherd and trusting Him to meet all of one’s needs. This state of contentment becomes more normal for us as we develop a track record of trust in the Lord. As we do, we soon learn that we will be okay in the end, even though we may not know when or how the Lord will meet our need.

What are some evidences that we are “wanting” rather than entrusting our lives to the Lord? Here are a few: fear of future, fear of lack of money, fear for yours or someone’s health issues; frustration, envy, jealousy, anger over being inconvenienced, complaining, blaming God for something, impatience with traffic, whining, becoming what James calls “unstable in all his ways.”

“Wanting” takes place when we are unwilling to accept trials and testings as part of our Shepherd’s plan to grow us up into the mighty men and women of God.

James 1:7-8 teaches us, that an unstable person is one who is wanting because he has either lost sight of who God is, due to his unpleasant circumstances, and/or has refused to trust God’s perfect plan for his life. James promises us that a person who refuses to acknowledge who God is and continues to push God away rather than entrusting himself to God and submitting to God’s plan for his life, that in the end, “let not that person expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

So, how then do we become “stable” and content, rather than unstable and “wanting?” It’s only when we take the humble position of first recognizing who it is that is our Shepherd, and humbly submitting to His greater wisdom, His goodness and love for us, that we find His blessing of contentment in our lives.

I’ve learned that it’s okay to admit or to even complain to the Lord, “Lord, this stinks! This isn’t fair and I don’t like it.” God, indeed, is big enough to listen to and hear our whining and complaints. So, by all means, share your broken- heartedness with Him. Job, Moses, David, Jonah, Jeremiah, Elijah and many other godly saints did. But don’t leave it there. When the Israelites, early in their history as a people, complained about having to live in the wilderness of Sinai, they were punished for their complaining. Why? Why them and not Elijah? Because their complaining was a symptom of their unbelief—a lack of trust in their God.

David shared everything with God, his fears, frustrations and broken-heartedness, even his struggles with unbelief. But different than his Israelite brethren in Sinai, he turned to God and admitted his own inadequacies and need for God to take over and do what David could never do for himself. David would share his doubts, his unbelief and then ask God to change his unbelief. In so doing, David taught himself to “Cease Striving” and to recognize God for who God is, to know God and then rest in the knowledge of His God.

Personally, what I have learned to do, after whining to the Lord about my situation is to follow up that conversation with the Lord with an act of surrendering my life to Him. For me, that act of surrender typically is a two-step process. First, I acknowledge who it is I’m dealing with. I pray something like this: “Lord, I know what you want me to do, and that’s to trust you with this situation by surrendering my life to You. Therefore, as an act of surrender, I declare to You what I know to be true about You. You are good, all-knowing and all-wise, and most importantly, You have proven your love for me. Therefore, I want to obey you and I want to trust you.

The second step of surrendering to the Lord, is an admission that I am powerless to change myself, and therefore humbly submit myself to His transforming power. “I admit to You, that by myself, I can’t turn my frustrations and unbelief into trust. Therefore, I ask You to rescue me from myself. I ask You to transform my unbelief into complete trust; turn my frustrations into joy for You and Your will; cause and enable me to will to do what You want me to do, when right now I honestly don’t want to do it.”

Have you learned yet, that successfully living the Christian life takes supernatural power beyond yourself? If you could do it without Christ’s resurrection power, then Christ would have stayed dead in the grave. But His resurrection was not to just prove that one day He can raise you, too. His resurrection power is presently available to you for living today. But you must surrender to Him, and seek Him to experience it. It does not come to you automatically. It comes to you as you walk by faith in His abiding in you. “I need for you to so live your resurrected powerful life through me that you change my heart, and supernaturally enable me to put this wrong aside, to obey you and to walk with you, trusting my future to You, the Good Shepherd.”

As I have learned to surrender to and trust the Lord for who He is, I am also learning to trust Him with my future, which is unknown to me. In turn, I have discovered that He changes my desires, my heart and enables me to do what previously, I could not. I daily repeat these steps of surrender. When I forget to, is usually when discontent reigns in my heart.

In the end, the struggles of life have kept me depending upon Him. In addition, I have learned that when I depend upon Him, I have stayed close to Him, which is really where I long to be. I have not fully arrived. Like most sheep, I’m still prone to wander, but I have come along way in learning that because He is my Shepherd, I can be content; and, I have noticed that I am wandering less.

In the end, I have discovered Paul’s statement in 1 Timothy 6:6 to be true. He declares, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.”

Someone once mentioned to Joni Erickson Tada, now a woman in her fifties who was tragically paralyzed as a teen due to a diving accident, that she must really look forward to heaven when she will have a new body. Her reply: “No, I don’t look forward to heaven so much and having a new body as I desire a new heart in which no envy, jealousy, bitterness, hatred and a critical spirit resides.” In a nutshell, Joni isn’t looking for an easier or more pleasant life. Instead, she is surrendering to and looking forward to God’s finished product of a supernaturally transformed heart, one that brings a permanent peace to the selfish-driven civil war within.

Let me close with this question: How would you fill in the blank of this question: “I will be happy when _______.” If you have filled in the blank, with anything other than a closer walk and communion with the Lord...if you have put anything like having more money, children, a great marriage, a successful business, better health...if you put anything down other than seeking to follow the Shepherd’s lead, you will find no peace settlement for the civil war that rages within. You will find yourself full of discontent and wanting, rather than genuine and long-lasting contentment. The choice is simple if not basic: Who or what will you choose to pursue, in order to find contentment? What is going to be your “one thing?”

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