but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”
THE PSALM 34 CHALLENGE – Day 10
You can join on any day – and memorize the Psalm at your own pace.
Today we add verse 10.
Psalm 34:10, “The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”
Consider this: When my children were young we visited the San Francisco Zoo to see the animals. The featured attraction was a visit to the renowned Lion House. It was a place where big cats were fed daily at 2 p.m. and where we could get an up-close view of the feedings. It was an intense experience because when the lions roared for their food, the sound was amplified as it bounced off the hard wall surfaces.
In the wild, young lions don’t have the luxury of showing up for their 2 p.m. feeding. They are on their own, and hunt and prowl, and chase other animals that are lower on the food chain. If you watch nature programs about lions you see them chase their prey, but they don’t always get the meal they so desperately want. Sometimes they miss a meal or more and suffer hunger. Yet God feeds His creatures.
Psalm 145:15-16, “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Although the young lions sometimes lack a meal or two, “those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” In the “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus teaches us to pray this way: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Most of the time the LORD provides far more than we need, but sometimes He has allowed us to literally pray for our daily bread. But we have never starved, and we have never lacked any good thing.
I was running some errands one afternoon with William MacDonald and I remembered Krista had asked me to pick up some milk for our two young girls. I went into Safeway and grabbed a half-gallon of milk and Bill waited for me at the checkout stand. I had no idea what the price of milk was since Krista usually did the grocery shopping. I gave the milk to the cashier and she said, “That will be $1.87.” I opened my wallet and pulled out the only bill I had – $1.00 – and gave it to her. As I reached into my pocket for loose change, Bill beat me to it and said, “Oh, let me lighten my load” and he took out his green plastic change purse and poured out a pile of pennies, nickels, and dimes. He counted out the change and said, “There, now I won’t be leaning to one side from the weight of all that change.” What I didn’t know is that I had no change in my pocket. But the LORD knew my need and, in a rather humorous way, He provided for all my needs.
Some years later, I was working in my home office paying bills. There was a loud knock at the front door and a tall, blonde young man stood at the door. I didn’t know who he was. I said, “Hi, can I help you?” He asked, “Are you Don Robertson?” I said, “Yes!” He asked, “Do you live by faith?” I thought it was a rather odd question for a stranger to ask me, so I replied, “Yes, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). He said, “God told me to give this to you and handed me some cash.” I said, “Who are you?” and he replied, “You will never know.” “But,” I objected, “I like to thank someone if they give me something. Who will I thank?” He pointed upwards and said, “Thank the Lord!” And he turned around into the night and I never saw him again. Who was it? I don’t know. I went back into my office and saw that he had given me 3 – $20 bills. I bowed my head in thanks to the Lord for His provision and now I could finish paying my bills. Once again, I did not lack any good thing.
These are two simple illustrations of how the LORD has provided. We have seen the LORD do similar things so many times in our married life that I have lost count, but I know that the One who fed two million Jews in the wilderness for 40 years and provided them with water from a rock, and angel’s food (Manna) in the dew of the morning, and gave them shoes that never wore out, is the same One who promises me – and promises you – that “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Notice it is “according to His riches” not “out of His riches.” His resources are never depleted by His giving. And His giving is generous. For those who choose to give to others from the resources God has given them, they find that God always gives back, “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over…for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).
Can God be trusted to care for us? David assures us that we can trust Him:
Psalm 34:10, “The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.”