“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
Life in this world is characterized by want. As the apostle James put it, we “desire to have, and cannot obtain” (James 4:2). Sometimes, it is not a matter of having nothing at all; it is simply not having enough, or all that we would want. Even when our thirst is sufficiently quenched, it is still only temporary satisfaction. We must once again go back to the well.
In the Old Testament, God calls Himself “the fountain of living waters” (Jer. 2:13). In the New Testament, Jesus told the woman at the well that He could be in her “a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Oh, if we only knew the gift that God Himself is, we would would let Him fill our cup, and never thirst!
God is the cure, not the cause, of our restless dissatisfaction. But we have not because we ask not. Instead of looking to God, we look to man. We pin our hopes for happiness on the creature rather than the Creator. We make idols of human beings. Our quest for true fulfillment, connection, and satisfaction remains elusive.
God in His mercy lets flesh and blood fail us. In His wisdom, He has ordained that they come up short for one simple reason: they are not Him. When father and mother exit the picture, He is ready to enter. When no man would know us or care whether we are alive or dead, He would be our refuge and portion. “Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting” (Isa. 63:16).
Don’t dread the loss of any human being from your life. Don’t fear desolation. “Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day” (1 Tim. 5:5). God meets us best in the wilderness of want. Want in this world is an opportunity for heaven to fill the void. He is there, for every one of us, patiently waiting for us to look away from the things of earth and turn our eyes upon Jesus. When our world grows smaller, God would grow larger. Let Him fill the void!