All I Want for Christmas
Think of that one Christmas gift. You know, the one. The one you wrote Santa about, the one you whispered quietly in his ear as you sat on his lap and tugged at his beard, the one you hung your belief in “the magic of Christmas” on. If it didn’t happen. You just knew the magic was lost.
Or maybe you reminded your mom and dad of how good you were, and how much it would mean to you if they could manage that one gift. The gift – the one. It was an expression of love and the Christmas spirit, or was it? What if “All I want for Christmas” is simply an expression of our want?
I shall not what?
God sent his perfect son to live and die for our sins – as a gift. The Magi brought gifts to the Savior of the world when he was a tiny tot. We love giving (and getting) gifts as we reflect the real meaning of Christmas. Every year I pray we don’t get so caught up in all of our wants that we forget “we shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
I just completed a study on that oh so famous verse of the Bible. I have heard it a million times it seems, but until recently I didn’t give it much thought. It knew it was a Psalm of comfort, but I never really studied it verse by verse. So, when we started of with verse one, I knew I needed to dive in. I kept replaying in my mind, over and over again, “I shall not want.” The Spirit was nudging me to give it some serious thought.
Just a Dreamer, Right?
So, I did. And what I learned is that I have a serious want problem. But because I don’t usually end up buying or getting all the things I want, I didn’t really think it was a problem. I’m just a dreamer, right? Oh boy. The devil had me fooled. Here’s the issue with wanting. When you fill your heart with want for the things of this world, you don’t leave room for wanting, or receiving, the things of Jesus. It’s like he gets pushed farther down the list every time we add another worldly want.
We want things, we want experiences, we want affirmation and success. Checking off the boxes feels good, so we add more to the list with new expectations. Even when we are studying the Word each day, we are influenced by all the other things we take in: social media, dreamy books, binge-worthy television shows, climbing the proverbial ladder, day trips to the big city, day trips to the countryside… the list goes on. We try to live good and make our own magic happen with all the things on our list.
Chasing Down Your Wants
The phrase “shall not want” is translated from the Hebrew word echsar, meaning chaser. In this passage it is interpreted “to lack nothing.” I shall not want, I lack nothing, is in stark contrast to our traditional Christmas want list – or maybe everyday want list. Don’t take back the presents and tear up your Christmas list just yet, (unless you need to.) But ask yourself, how often are you chasing the things of this world, yet still feel like you are lacking something? What if we paraphrased the second sentence in Psalm 23:1, “I shall chase nothing?”
Chasing down all your world-inspired wants won’t fill your heart. But Jesus will. He is the Good Shepherd who takes care of our every need. And honestly, our needs aren’t usually on our want list. Friends, we will lack nothing when we follow him. Like sheep, we often get off track, go astray. Something else gets our attention and we start heading in the wrong direction. Thankfully, the Lord will come after us and bring us back to the flock. I love how Jennifer Rothschild said it in the study Psalm 23, The Shepherd with Me. “Sister, we may experience lack in this life, but we will only lack what we don’t need. We will never lack what we do need,” things like faith, wisdom, comfort and courage.
Follow the Shepherd
We’re all on different paths, and that’s okay – just so we are traveling alongside the Shepherd. Because he knows each of us so well, he knows our needs. It is my hope and prayer you surrender your want list to him in exchange for all the good he has for you. You may be surprised at the magnitude of his love and his grace.
May your heart be filled with all you need.
Becky Reeder, remade.
“Green Pastures” Original Oil on Wood Panel 5x5x1.5
“Green Pastures” by Becky Reeder
5x5x1.5 oil on panel
There is nothing better than a cup of coffee with a view! Green Pastures is part of the Little Bitty Landscape series and offers just that… well, almost. Each 5x5x1.5 oil on panel in the series is inspired by those beautiful places where we like to sip coffee and take in God’s beautiful creation. And it comes with coffee! To support my favorite and oh-so-good mission’s coffee, included with each painting is a 2.5-ounce package of Kingdom Growers Nation’s Blend coffee.