“And this is the confidence that we have in him, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whosoever we ask, we know that we have petitions that we desired of him.”
1st John 5:14-15
This scripture reveals that as children of God, we should have the type of confidence that David had when he penned the words of Psalm 23:1. Why would a child of God not be in want? It is because the Shepherd of our lives, the Almighty God, is also our Provider. For this reason, our Good shepherd makes us to lie down in green pastures, and as if that is not enough, this same Jehovah Rohi leads us besides the still waters. Psalm 23:3 reveals righteous living as another secret to a life of not being in want. Speaking on this, Proverbs 14:34 says:
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
In other words, if you do not want to suffer lack, live a holy life. The reason why I don’t need to be persuaded to live holy is because having tasted poverty in the real sense of it and also tasting a little life of abundance, I know that the latter is far better than the former, and I have traced the life of abundance I enjoyed to the time I gave my life to Christ. So, I have made up my mind that I will be obedient to God’s word in its entirety, which is what holiness is all about.

When you study David’s life, you will discover that one of the secrets to his life of abundance is that he was fearless. Some people are afraid of venturing into projects or careers that would bring them abundant material blessings because of the fear of death. Not David! Even when King Saul tried to persuade him not to fight Goliath for fear of him getting killed, he was not deterred (1st Samuel 17:33). He boldly declared in Psalm 23:4 that though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, he would fear no evil, because the Good Shepherd was with him. After he became king, he lacked nothing because he did not allow the fear of death to rule his life. To sum it all up, he said in Psalm 23:6:
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
This verse is a great lesson to those who stop presenting themselves in worship before God in His sanctuary after receiving an initial blessing from Him. Consequently, their supplies dry up in a short while due to their ingratitude. To remain connected to the One who daily loads you with benefits, abide in His presence and give Him the worship He deserves. When you continually do this, He will show Himself as the Mighty provider in your life.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

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