dirty, smelly sheep in the heat of the day and the cold of the night. No one in his right mind would want to be a shepherd. Yet God loves us so much that he chose to be our Shepherd. And he is a good Shepherd. When we read, “I shall not want” (v. 1), some people think that means God gives us everything we desire. But the idea is not that God gives us everything we ask for; rather, he cares for us by giving us everything we need. Sheep are helpless animals; left to themselves they lack everything.