Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
There is a classic Rolling Stones song with the line “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Early on in my Christian life I struggled with being satisfied. Since nothing was good enough I tended to whine and complain and that attracted a lot of oppressive spirits into my life. Not only was I dissatisfied I was also creating a negative spiritual atmosphere around me.
In the late 1970’s there was a worship song that had the line “You satisfy me Lord, You satisfy me, You, only You satisfy me.” One of the young guys confessed, the Lord doesn’t satisfy me. He was brave enough to say what I felt. I will never forget the counsel given, “Make it a prayer, ‘Lord, You satisfy me’, until it becomes the truth.” That has stuck with me to this very day.
That simple prayer opened my eyes to see that I was not experiencing satisfaction because I tied satisfaction to circumstances. If my circumstances were good, I was satisfied and happy. If they were bad, then I was dissatisfied and unhappy. But that’s not the kind of satisfaction or happiness that lasts, or the true satisfaction and happiness God has made available to us. King David wrote that God would satisfy our souls more than the richest feast (Ps. 63:5).
Over time I began to see His love for me in ways I had never considered before. God was changing my distorted view of Him. I began to see God through the lens of I Corinthians 13:4-8. Unlike us humans, God does not have bad moods. He is never resentful, angry or touchy, nor does He have bad days. In fact, God is in a pleasant state of satisfaction, He is happy. In 1 Timothy 1:11 it says, “The glory of the blessed God.” The word translated blessed is the Greek word makarios, which refers to a pleasant state of satisfaction, happiness.
In Romans 4:6-8, Paul quotes David describing the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. The word blessedness is again the Greek work makarios, but it is used in the plural here. David was looking into the future and seeing the abundance of satisfaction and happiness we can experience in the New Covenant of grace we now live in.
How can we practically engage this satisfaction and happiness? I learned to stop being sin conscious. When I stumble I do not continue to think about it. I run to the throne of Grace where I find mercy and grace to help me (Heb. 4:15-16). I forget my failure and think on what God is doing in my life. Abraham proved you couldn’t be tempted with what you do not think (Heb. 11:15, Rom. 4:19). You have to be thinking about it to be tempted by it.
Also, I love to soak and meditate in the presence of the Lord. And so many times, He lavishes His loving presence on me. However, there are times when it seems quiet. I have learned to think on what God has already done for me, especially the cross, during those quite times. In fact, when my spiritual life in general seems quiet, I purposefully think on the cross because it is the greatest demonstration of God’s love and power. Just doing these simple things helps me to stay satisfied and happy in my heart.
Many Blessings, BW