What Satisfies You?

“For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul He fills with good things.”
(Psalm 107:9)

There is a significant difference between being satisfied with God and being satisfied with the good things he gives. Far too many of us are satisfied only when he gives us good things.  As John Piper said, “The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with so many other things.” I am learning that the greatest enemy of our hunger for God is not his enemies, but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. Good things can do great damage. The greatest competitors for our hunger for God are some of his most precious gifts.

All of us know what it means to be hungry.  For the vast majority of Americans, hunger is something that we do not worry about on a daily basis. When we are hungry we eat; simple. Yet, what is the status of our hunger for the Lord? The Psalmist learned a significant truth that many of us would benefit from as well. He learned that the longing and hungry soul is always filled, filled with the only thing that truly satisfies the deepest hunger of our souls, with the Lord.

Yet how do we best determine the degree of our hunger for the Lord? Well, for me it relates to a simple examination of the things that I submit to again and again. I have learned that the things I submit to on a regular basis are an accurate barometer of my hunger for God. What are some of the things we submit to? For some it is leisure activities, television, lack of personal discipline, worry, self-pity, discouragement, or any number of things. If we find ourselves succumbing to these things again and again, it is certain that our hunger for God is far too small.

The strongest and the most mature Christians I have met are the hungriest for God. And the more deeply we walk with Jesus Christ, the hungrier we get for him.  If we do not feel hunger for God, it is because we have snacked on the things of this life in place of filling ourselves full of him.  We nibble on small things at the expense of the one great thing that will fully satisfy our soul – God himself.

I believe with all my heart that God is committed to rewarding our hunger for him. The Psalmist said that “He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills. . .”  Join with me in asking God to fill us with the only thing our souls are truly satisfied with - God, not simply his gifts. There is a difference, and it will make all the difference our lives.