PSALM 36:7-9 – How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
THEME OF THE DAY. RICHLY SATISFIED IN GOD. All human beings crave satisfaction. All human beings search for contentment. All human beings yearn for inward fulfillment. Yet, all human beings don’t seek those heart cries in the same place. For non-Christians, they embark on a daily pursuit of satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment on a road of futility. They live like a hamster on a wheel; running and running, around and around, and never arriving anywhere new or achieving anything different. Same place as it started. And it is like that for all non-Christians. They run all around to all kinds of things and experiences in a quest for what cannot be found anywhere in the created world. And this extends beyond seeking satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment in material things. Non-Christians also seek those things in another human being in relationships ranging from close friendship to marriage. Yet, just like the futile hunt for satisfaction contentment and fulfillment in material things, so will be the search in human relationships – a dead-end street. No human being can bring satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment to another human heart. Creature cannot satisfy creature. So, there is the place non-Christians go to satisfy their inner being – the world to find what the world cannot give. Sadly, Christians also go there, and the results are the same – dissatisfaction, not satisfaction; discontentment, not contentment; and unfulfilled, not fulfilled. Christians, however, know better and where to go – to the Creator; to the One who alone brings all the human soul longs for – satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment. And today’s scripture shows us what God gives to meet those wants in every human being. Let’s list them . . .
First, God richly satisfies the human soul with His steadfast love. We were created to be loved by God and to love God back. This is the place of the highest satisfaction in the human experience. The Psalmist knew this and even prayed for this divine experience – Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:14). What a great way to start any day – running to Him and His love to flood our soul with the contentment coming from knowing and experiencing God’s incredible love!
Next, our God richly satisfies His children by bringing them under the protective wings of His personal care – The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. It is a great comfort and quiets the restless, discontented hearts of God’s children to know He shields and protects them in life’s many threatening storms.
A third way God brings satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment in the lives of His children is giving the spiritual blessings of Himself as “living water” to quench their spiritual thirsts – they feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. Also along the lines of God bringing the hearts and souls of His children to the place of satisfied and contented fulfillment is the revelation of the truth of this passing world and of the next never-ending world – For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. What really brings satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment to the human heart is truth; truth known, embraced and lived. Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). And one of the freeing aspects of truth is its ability to show us nothing in this world provides what only God can – satisfy and fulfill the human heart and soul.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your satisfying grace that fills my heart with contentment.”
QUOTE: “God satisfies the human heart by not just what He gives but who He is.”