"How much is enough?" a journalist once asked John D. Rockefeller, America's first billionaire. "Just a little more," Rockefeller replied. Even though we may not have the resources of the super-rich, we all ask ourselves the same question. Our world is obsessed with having and spending more. But at the root of a response like Rockefeller's is a misunderstanding about who provides for us.

David understood that God was his provider. "I have all that I need," he wrote in verse 1 of Psalm 23. In other words, because I belong to the Lord, I can experience a life without need.

We can think of this in two ways. The first: wait for God to give us everything we think we need, and when we don't receive it, blame God or others. Or, the second way: follow the example of Christ and the disciples by gratefully receiving what God has given us and allowing Him to change our hearts. In this way, even our needs are governed by our submission to Him.

Reading the first verse of Psalm 23 should remind us of John 10:11, where Christ says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." The transforming truth of the gospel is that we have more than enough because the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us.

Suggested Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, I want to thank You, because You are my provider, and as Psalm 23 says, I will lack nothing. Thank You Father, because in You I can live a full life. Today, I just want to thank you for being the Good Shepherd, who lays down his life for his sheep. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, Amen.

1. Psalm 23 (NLT).

Today's Encounter was written by: Rosina N.