Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity. For he has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things.” Psalms 107:8-9 CSB
The Satisfied Life
Are you living a satisfied life?
A satisfied life is a life settled and at peace.
When we love someone struggling with addiction or any other stronghold, someone who is lost and hurting, we just want them better.
“Be whole, loved one, and I will be satisfied.”
After all, they are responsible for our happiness, right? But people and places and things cannot satisfy us.
Our restless minds long for the peace only a satisfied soul can offer. I was not satisfied. I wanted things to change. Not just to change, but to be better. Instead, my life was filled with longing. My list of “if onlys” had become a mile long.
If only my son was healed. If only he was safe and well. If only he was working and productive. If only he would love and serve the Lord. If only he was free from mental illness. If only there was calm from the storm.
Longing...Always Wanting
A longing heart will never be satisfied apart from Jesus. Our hearts long for what they can't have, satisfaction in people, places, and things. Jesus alone knows what it takes to fill the emptiness we fight to satiate.
Jesus cares for us. Jesus takes care of us. He fulfills our desire with good things, eternal things.
He does the same for our longing wanderers. He knows their deepest yearnings, those inner holes in their souls that they are trying to fill with temporary treasures.
Likewise, he allows our temporary pleasures to disappointment us and leave us unfulfilled. He lets the weight of our wanting bury us under its load.
It is in the craving for something more, someone more, that everything and everyone we pursue apart from Christ leaves us unsatisfied. Only he satisfies the craving of our hungry soul.
"I am the bread of life," Jesus told them. " No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty." John 6:35
We can’t help but feel awe-inspired gratefulness as we grasp that the Creator of the Universe is caring for us. Taste and see that the Lord is so very good.
The goodness of our God is covering us every moment of every day. He is caring for our every need, not one goes unnoticed by His watchful eye.
Still, we have a longing in our souls for our loved ones to be whole, to know they are loved by God. There is nothing wrong with this cry of our hearts.
Jesus longs for their return as well.
The Spirit of God is wooing our children, our spouses, our loved ones back to Him. He is watching over them. He is calling to them no matter how clouded their minds are or how hardened their hearts are.
“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God because they will return to me with all their heart.” Jeremiah 24:7
Finally Fulfilled
We can let go of the inner longing for perfect circumstances and a perfect life, and let our longings be transformed and fulfilled by a perfect God. Heavenly longing is never satisfied by earthly treasures.
As we lift up prayers of longing for our prodigal's return, may they be flavored with songs of praise and thanksgiving. In His presence our hunger is filled and our thirst is quenched. And there, we can truly say, “it is well with my soul.”
Dear Lord Jesus,
You fulfill our longings as nothing else and no one else can. We will seek you and we will find you when we seek you with all our hearts. We are grateful for your love that chases after our loved ones. We are more than satisfied. We are fulfilled. Thank you, Lord.
Amen.
Beautiful Blessings, Dawn