Today’s guest post is from Atlanta’s Rev. Joel Hug.  He has been meditating on Psalm 23 and shares with us what he has discovered about our God of Increase.

Psalm 23:1 – The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.

This verse, I believe, has been twisted by Satan himself to force a crowbar into our lives and slowly dismantle our future.

If you look up the word “want” in history, the common definition today is “to desire”, which didn’t come into existence until the early 1700′s. Prior to this, the meaning was held to be “to lack”.

Here is the definition according to Strong’s:

1) to lack, be without, decrease, be lacking, have a need

a) (Qal)
1) to lack
2) to be lacking
3) to diminish, decrease
b) (Piel) to cause to lack
c) (Hiphil) to cause to be lacking

Obviously the former definition is what is meant in a Biblical context. Our God is a God of increase! AMEN?

When you agree with that understanding and you say for example, “I want that car”, you are declaring that you lack the item. One thing to think about is every time you use this word you are giving the enemy power over your life. Satan doesn’t want you to have good things so any time he can get you to declare that you lack something, you are reinforcing poverty in your life.

It’s time to agree with Scripture that “I shall NOT want”. I shall not lack anything. God will provide everything I need. It’s time to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” and agree with God that He shall provide everything you need. If you walk in step with the Spirit, ask whatever you want in prayer and it will be given to you (Matt. 21:22).

OK. We’ve already seen how the word ‘want’ has been misused and has caused poverty in your life (and mine, for that matter). Now let’s look at another common word: Need.

How many times have you said phrases like these?:

I need new clothes.
My kids need to clean their room.
I really need to find a spouse.
I need that item.

We all have done it from time to time and before you know it, the word need becomes a habit just like the word want.

“What’s wrong with that,” you say? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one of the definitions of the word ‘need’ is ‘to be in want’. Here is the definition that Strong’s give to the word:

1) need, poverty, thing needed
a) need, thing needed
b) lack, want
c) need, poverty

This is troublesome given that one of the meanings of ‘need’ is want. We know all about that word from our previous discussion.

Again, can you imagine yourself saying (using the phrases above):

I (lack, am in poverty of) new clothes.
I (want, am in poverty of) a spouse.
My kids lack cleaning their room.

By making statements like this, we are going against what God had declared for us in Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall NOT WANT.” (emphasis mine)

The words of your mouth are very powerful. Look here at Psalm 34:9-10:

“Oh fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing”

How cool is that! “Those who seek the Lord shall not lack ANY good thing”. ANY!!! Can you say, “Wooohooo!!!” Oh, and how about this one in Proverbs 12:13-14:

“The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips, but the just shall come out of trouble. A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth”.

You see, God will not only provide for everything for you but you will, in turn, be satisfied with what he gives you because of what you say. Mind you, this is not an excuse to sit around and wait for God to drop a new job in your lap. The Bible also says in Proverbs 13:4:

“The soul of a lazy man desires and has nothing; But the soul of a diligent man shall be made rich”.

Obviously this is not talking about money riches, but about riches in other areas of your life.

Listen to Him. He will guide you. He will correct your speech and guide you into right thinking and right speech. Ask him to help you with your tongue so that every word that comes out of your mouth is in agreement with His Word, Jesus. Blessings!

Joel is currently starting a healing ministry in the Atlanta and is very excited about the doors that are opening up in his life.