Psalm 23:1
"The Lord (The sovereign creator and ruler of all things - YHWH) is my shepherd..."
The metaphor of a shepherd suggests that God is the one who protects me, who guides me, who provides for me, who meets all my needs. He knows what I need before I do, and has already planned how to meet those needs.
Knowing this truth, the writer of Psalm 23 continues...
"...I shall not (I cannot, it is ignorant of me to, it is unwise to...) want..."
The Hebrew word for "want", is "cheser", which means to need, or be lacking. When we experience "want", it is because we believe we have a need, or that we are lacking something. If we believe we have a need that our God/shepherd has not provided, or is not providing, it is because we have forgotten that He has already planned to meet every need, even before we were aware of the need.
Jesus assured us that we dont have to pray with fear, or "want", always begging God for things. He said, "Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!"
Matthew 6:8 NLT
The ultimate truth is this; if we experience "want", or believe that we are lacking something, it is untrue. We have simply fallen prey to the delusion and deception of "want". "Want" (aka, "cheser") causes us to chase after our perceived needs. When we chase after something that the shepherd is already going to provide this can cause us to veer away from the flock, and out from under the protection of the shepherd.
In our apparent reality (within this earthly realm of matter) it may seem (or appear) that we have lack, or need. However, this is untrue. We cannot live by believing only what we see. We have to live by faith.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"
Hebrews 11: 1
Faith is the connecting power into the spiritual (the unseen) realm, which links us with God and makes Him, and His provision, become a tangible reality to the sense perceptions of a person. What is unseen, in the spiritual realm, is more real than what is seen within this material realm. The unseen, spiritual realm existed before, and will exist long after, this material realm.
All things that are seen (visible, in the material world) come from the realm of the unseen. We cannot continue to chase after things that we think we "want", or things we think that we need. We have to know that all that we need already exists and will be brought to us, in material form, just as God, our shepherd, has planned for it to.
"By faith we understand that the entire universe, (all material things), were formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. (What we see in the material, came from the unseen; the spiritual realm"
Hebrews 11:3 NLT
When I believe that I have a need for something (e.g., a relationship, a new car, more money, etc.) I must remember this truth...
"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19 NLT
When I believe that I have any type of need (e.g., sexually, financially, relationally, etc.) the truth is, God is going to provide for it. And if He doesn't (at least not in my desired timing) then it must not be a need, and I shall not want (chase after it).
So powerfully freeing!!!