“I Lack No Good Thing In Him”

Hi all! Perhaps we have had times where we are in search of answers, healing, love, a hope or some signs, yet even after praying for a long time, we have still yet to see or received much. Resulting in us falling into disappointments. We know the Lord wants us to rely on our faith to live and hope for things, but it seems easier said than done. But first, let us ask ourselves again what do we understand from living by our faith in God? To live by our faith is to trust in God’s promises and that we already have been given what we need. So if you are in a state of despair, Psalm 34:10 tells us, “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” This promise is assured to those who pursue the Lord. However, it is hard to digest this because we may still be in a situation of lack, illness, relationship issues and all. So how can we not be disheartened? How do I internalise this verse that I “lack no good thing” in the Lord?

What is “good”?

Firstly, let us understand again what is the meaning of good. In Psalm 16:2, David said, “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” And Psalm 73:25, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” Then Philippians 3:8, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”
1. The Utmost “Good”
From these 3 verses, we can see the definition of God is that God has given us His only Son. And through Him, we can understand the eternal life and blessings in God. Other than this, there is no greater love, gains or satisfaction. When we know God through Christ, we can then come before the Lord and experience God’s glory, grace, presence and provision.

Sanctified through the love and mercy of Christ’s cross

To come to the Lord is truly not easy. Why? Because of our fallen nature. Only when we go through the finished work of the cross will be receive the cleansing of our sins, and then can we uprightly come before God to call upon Him. This is when we can have the sense and experience what is the true goodness in God, allowing us to stop seeking manufactured or temporal forms of good.

What does it mean by “lacking no good thing”?

“Lacking no good thing” means that in Christ we are no longer in lack. This is because in the Lord, there is sufficient love, grace, comfort and wisdom to uplift us in our living and spiritual needs. When we rely on the Lord and see that we have all the necessary provision from Him, we will not find ourselves seeking for more. But many still find contentment only when they have attained what they desire after. So we have to ask, even if we do receive what we wanted, will it lead us closer to God? To His love, mercy, strength and goodness? In actual fact, if men only seek to gain material or carnal benefits more than what is good in the Lord, their spirits will still constantly meet with feelings of lack. Because a spiritual lack will bring about lack in our flesh. And the void in the spirit cannot be filled up by superficial gains. However, if a person’s undesirable circumstance leads them to need God, draw near to Him, it will be revealed to them more and more clearly that they are already living in the sufficient goodness of God. So if you really see that knowing the Lord is the utmost good, then even if we are not given what we want, we would not be fazed by a sense of lack. Because in that area of lack, if actually pulls us closer to experience the magnitude and evidence of what God can provide for us instead, what is contentment through His eyes. This supercedes our personal desires.

Why do we still feel disheartened?

But now that we know God’s goodness and that in Christ, we lack nothing, why do we still feel disappointed from time to time? Now of course, I am not trying to downplay some of the needs we may have, but if you are only disheartened because God did not give you what you wanted, this could mean some form of gap in our faith. What gap is it? That is we still do not trust God’s goodness to its fullness. Now, we cannot let this remain in our hearts, if not, we will easily turn to self pity, robbed off our joy and grow discontentment. So how do we overcome this sense of disappointment?

1. God’s eternal perspective for you.

Firstly, God has already given us a different set of lenses to look at things, an eternal perspective. So instead of looking at our immediate issues, remember that all your conditions are to prepare you and call you in to bless others. So we have to see all our lack as means for our calling. Be it certain weaknesses to relate to others, inconveniences and sacrifice we need to make to minister to others and so on.

2. Match God’s heartbeat

Next, instead of praying away our disappointment, pray for our hearts to match God’s as we go through our struggles. Even while we are upset about our inabilities or situation, pray for God to reveal His purpose to us, so that we may take part in glorifying Him. When we have the heart for God, even if we go through loneliness, poverty, sickness, family problems and such, God will give us a new found contentment, like perhaps the love from brethren around us, practical helping hand or comfort.

3. Be wary of deceptions

Then, we must be wary not to fall into the traps of deception, thinking your whole circumstance is dire or the worst. We must seek God’s reason in this, if not, we will easily sink into despair, wasting our time away, dwelling in disappointment. We have to go back, test and affirm the eternal perspective God has given us, not just merely look at what is short term, in the here and now.

4. Pray according to His promises

Finally, we have to keep praying while holding fast to His promises, until we receive His convictions. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guard our hearts and strengthen our trust in Christ as our utmost good. Like David said in Psalm 43:4, “Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.”

Brothers and sisters, if we are disheartened because of some things we have not received, let us now seek the contentment in Christ, so that we can lead a life that “lacks no good thing” in the Lord. God bless.