Eventually we all hope to find something that will "work for us," something that will satisfy, something that really lights our wick or rings our bell. We search and experiment and dabble and hunt and seek until we find something that makes us feel full, good on the inside, like we're really going somewhere.
We want to feel alive, charged, exhilarated.
We want to be full, satisfied, content.
We want to have purpose, meaning, significance.
We want to have joy, enthusiasm, excitement.
We want to connect, get intimate, be real with someone and have them be real with us.
We want to matter, to be loved, to be accepted.
We want a lot don't we? And, quite honestly, I don't think God is appalled at our desires at all. I repeat, God is not appalled or offended by our hunger, by our thirst. In fact, I think He created us that way.
He didn't create milk toast, boring, lazy people with no drive, no vision, no ambition, no hunger. He created us to hunger and thirst so that He, the God of the Universe, our Creator, could satisfy us completely, abundantly, thrillingly and eternally.
The writer of Psalm 42 knew this because He wrote in verses 1 and 2,
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
so my soul pants for Thee, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?
This guy knew he wasn't hungry for a new chariot, a dashing new robe, a sleek new sword or a night with his pick from the harem. He knew his soul was thirsting for something only his God could supply.
And David knew the satisfying provision of God too. He wrote in Psalm 63:5:
My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
In case we wonder if God just satisfies our souls with bland and boring, healthy and wholesome, and meaty but mundane, we should check out a newer, more contemporary version of David's praise. The Message interprets Psalm 63:5 this way:
I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!
No, God doesn't just appease our souls with something that will "do." He wows us with soul-satisfying good stuff that is the spiritual equivalent of prime rib and gravy. His goal? For us to lick the tasty, fatty juices from our lips and give Him a hardy shout out. He doesn't just satisfy our souls out of obligation. He doesn't shake His head and say, "Good grief. She's hungry again." And He doesn't begrudgingly offer us a minimal morsel to tide us over.
He lays out a banquet table and invites us to partake with gusto and enthusiasm. He pours unending glasses of living water and lays out warm loaves of the Bread of Life. He says to partake hardily of His Son by reading His Word, meditating on it, memorizing it, applying it to your life and living the thing. And He enjoys our feasting as much as we do. He wants to impress our socks off so we'll hop up from the table and go invite others to the feast as well.
But here's the kicker.
Many of us are doing what God's beloved people were guilty of in Isaiah 55:2. We're paying for cheap substitutes instead of eating from God's abundance. We've forsaken the fountain of living waters and dug our own wells in hopes that they could somehow provide what we need to quench our thirst. What a waste. What a costly mistake.
In Isaiah 55:2, God says:
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
and your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourself in abundance.
So today I simply ask you, what are you spending your money on that doesn't really satisfy? On what are you spending your wages (your reputation, your integrity, your family, your marriage, your time, ...) that keeps you coming back over and over like a driven slave, but never satisfies your thirsts?
It's not worth it.
Walk away from that which doesn't satisfy and run back to the One who will. He's set a place for you and will welcome you with open arms. Run.
If you want to know more about how God satisfies our souls, may I suggest my new Bible study, Satisfied...at Last! It's a 6-week Bible study that teaches you how to be truly satisfied with the Bread of Life. You can order by contacting me with the Contact button or by visiting Barnesandnoble.com. Labels: Satisfied at Last