So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night... (Psalm 63:4-6)
God's word is called the Bread of Life. The experience of fellowship with and reconciliation through Christ is likened to streams of Living Water.
Bread and Water...the basics of sustenance and survival, both in the natural and the spiritual. Without these - The Word of God and Fellowship through Reconciliation - we will wilt and wither and perish.
There is no disputing that our spiritual self needs as much nourishment as our physical self. If we go too long without food, our bodies begin to cry out and demand a feeding. Do we hear our Spirits cry that same way? Or do we drown it out by feeding on and seeking satisfaction in other things that do not sustain and revive like the Bread of Life and Living Water...things that dull our spiritual senses? Do we, too often, look to other things (sometimes very good things) to satisfy a hunger that can only be satisfied in Christ?
I know I am as guilty of this as anyone. My heart yearns for and strives after so many things. The Lord is kind and does bless and often plunks good and perfect gifts in my lap. My response? "Wooo! Ok. Do it again!" No matter how good and perfect...I am left wanting more. I am not satisfied.
I never will be. I will never say "Enough" when it comes to emotional highs, blessings of providence, wonderful gifts of fortune, friendship, love, or favor. Each new thing will only leave me looking for the next one. I believe that is God's design. We were not created to be satisfied in what we see or hear or feel or accumulate or even what we eat and drink. We are created to find satisfaction only in the One who is altogether lovely and all-satisfying.
Over the past few weeks, the Lord has graciously answered many, very specific, prayer requests. Each one has been beyond wonderful...exciting...exhilarating, even. But after the initial pleasure wore off...I was looking for a repeat performance! I felt so ungrateful and greedy and went to the Lord...went to His Word and met Him in prayer and He was faithful to meet with me and speak to me. And, do you know what happened...it was Enough. I was satisfied. My heart was at rest, no longer the wild stallion bucking and straining against the fence to run to its heart's content. It was content, grateful for the grass to graze on, the nearby stream, the warm breeze...and for the protection of the fence.
Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) Those who hunger and thirst for anything else never will.
Lord, let us be satisfied in you today. Teach us to strive only after righteousness and trust you with everything else. Teach us to abide in you. To graze on your Word and drink of your fellowship (which includes the fellowship of your suffering) each day and be sustained by and satisfied in only you. Amen.
God's word is called the Bread of Life. The experience of fellowship with and reconciliation through Christ is likened to streams of Living Water.
Bread and Water...the basics of sustenance and survival, both in the natural and the spiritual. Without these - The Word of God and Fellowship through Reconciliation - we will wilt and wither and perish.
There is no disputing that our spiritual self needs as much nourishment as our physical self. If we go too long without food, our bodies begin to cry out and demand a feeding. Do we hear our Spirits cry that same way? Or do we drown it out by feeding on and seeking satisfaction in other things that do not sustain and revive like the Bread of Life and Living Water...things that dull our spiritual senses? Do we, too often, look to other things (sometimes very good things) to satisfy a hunger that can only be satisfied in Christ?
I know I am as guilty of this as anyone. My heart yearns for and strives after so many things. The Lord is kind and does bless and often plunks good and perfect gifts in my lap. My response? "Wooo! Ok. Do it again!" No matter how good and perfect...I am left wanting more. I am not satisfied.
I never will be. I will never say "Enough" when it comes to emotional highs, blessings of providence, wonderful gifts of fortune, friendship, love, or favor. Each new thing will only leave me looking for the next one. I believe that is God's design. We were not created to be satisfied in what we see or hear or feel or accumulate or even what we eat and drink. We are created to find satisfaction only in the One who is altogether lovely and all-satisfying.
Over the past few weeks, the Lord has graciously answered many, very specific, prayer requests. Each one has been beyond wonderful...exciting...exhilarating, even. But after the initial pleasure wore off...I was looking for a repeat performance! I felt so ungrateful and greedy and went to the Lord...went to His Word and met Him in prayer and He was faithful to meet with me and speak to me. And, do you know what happened...it was Enough. I was satisfied. My heart was at rest, no longer the wild stallion bucking and straining against the fence to run to its heart's content. It was content, grateful for the grass to graze on, the nearby stream, the warm breeze...and for the protection of the fence.
Jesus said, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matthew 5:6) Those who hunger and thirst for anything else never will.
Lord, let us be satisfied in you today. Teach us to strive only after righteousness and trust you with everything else. Teach us to abide in you. To graze on your Word and drink of your fellowship (which includes the fellowship of your suffering) each day and be sustained by and satisfied in only you. Amen.
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