Tag: <span>satisfied</span>


God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory. Psalm 63:1-2, (HCSB)

These words from David convict me. My prayer is far more often, “I eagerly seek from You. …I thirst for what You can give me.” I wonder if I will ever be satisfied with God rather than constantly longing for what God offers.

I wonder, too, how David went from the wilderness of the first verse to the sanctuary of the second. This may be poetry, but the dry and desolate land is no mere metaphor for David; he was in an actual wilderness, most likely running from a blood-thirsty King Saul—and yet it is not water he craves, but God. He needs water; he thirsts for God. He needs food; he faints for God. I, on the other hand, need God; but I long for a job. I need God, but I crave security, stability, income.

So…  A simple word that suggests the answer to a problem, the satisfaction of a need.  David is thirsty, fainting for God, so he “gazes on God in the sanctuary.” But wait—David was in the wilderness, not the temple; he was in a cave, not a house of worship. Was the sanctuary a metaphor?  Maybe both yes and no. David seems to have cultivated a life of worship, much of which was likely experienced in the temple (actually, probably the tabernacle at this point—sort of a mobile, portable tent-temple). So as a poet, David could probably simply close his eyes and imagine himself there, worshipping God in the company of the people and the presence of the priests.

But as a shepherd he had also spent countless hours and days outside, bearing the sun’s blazing heat, the bitter cold of wilderness nights, the bone-drenching winter rains. He had worshipped God there, too, alone in the company of his flocks, coming alone to his God without the benefit of a priest; looking up to God not through the cloth and skin ceiling of the tabernacle, but in the canopy of space and stars and clouds.

Here, alone again and fainting from thirst in the wilderness, David again looks to the sanctuary of space and finds God’s strength and glory. And he worships. And he is satisfied. And…

3 My lips will glorify You because Your faithful love is better than life. 4 So I will praise You as long as I live; at Your name, I will lift up my hands. 5 You satisfy me as with rich food; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I think of You as I lie on my bed, I meditate on You during the night watches 7 because You are my helper; I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings. 8 I follow close to You; Your right hand holds on to me.”

By Randy Ehle
Used by Permission

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Thoughts on Worship

Keep Yourselves in God’s Love

The Importance of Knowing God


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Thoughts by Men thoughts by Randy Ehle

Prayer from Devotional on Satisfaction

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:11

Madison Avenue wants to sell you merchandise and it is not uncommon to see symbols of rating companies or phrases like “Satisfaction Guaranteed.” The marketing strategy is the more we have, the more satisfied we are.

There are two tragedies in life: one is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get what is desired. Truly, prosperity may be a greater test of character than poverty. How are you doing with the prosperity God has given you? Are you passing the test? If not, pray for the grace to find satisfaction in God’s good gifts.

The dictionary defines contentment as the state of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are. Today it is rare that we find anyone who is truly content with his or her condition in life.

The Bible has a great deal to say about contentment and being satisfied with what we have, who we are, and where we’re going. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25).

In essence, Jesus is telling us to be content with what we have. Moreover, He has given us a direct command not to worry about the things of this world. The world is material and temporal. God is spiritual and eternal and only He can give us true satisfaction.

MEDITATION: How are you doing in your earthly satisfaction? What do you think about all day long? What are your most important goals and desires in life? Do you let God have the place in your life that He wants and deserves?

PRAYER: Lord, help me to put you above all else in my life. I want to focus on you in all I do and seek your face in the decisions I make. Let the priority of my spiritual life rise above the desires for power, position and possessions. May you be my all in all and help me to realize that you are all I need day by day.

By John Grant
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

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