Good Morning!
What does it mean to be satisfied?
Does it just mean to tell yourself, "Well, I have enough I don't need anymore"?
It can, but don't you think there is more to it than just having everything you need?
Well Ronnie Van Zant's mom warned him about thinking that this was all that was necessary for it. In "Simple Man" he writes:
"Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this oh babe if you try
All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied"
You see satisfaction is as much an internal leveling as it is a material statement. It means that there is peace and a feeling that everything is just alright. It's almost one of those things that you can't describe unless it is true of you. It is the kind of thing you know about when you have it. But why is it the case that we struggle so much with knowing of a spiritual rest of this type?
I think a large part of the reason why this is the case is because we are seeking everything but the only one who can give it to us. Now, that sounds like one of those things preachers say, and that is true. We do say that all the time, but that is because it is true. As long as we strive to fill that hole in our heart with other people, money, sex, cars, whatever the reality is we will never know the peace that passes all understanding because the only solution is Jesus. His righteousness, His holiness, His grace, His everything is the only answer for being satisfied. That's what Skynyrd's mom is getting at above. A large part of the reason why our culture is so heavily medicated with booze, pills (legal and illegal), and drugs is because our nature longs to be whole. We know in the depths of our hearts that there is something missing. Yet because of our sinfulness we don't want to believe that Christ is really enough. This is why the ancient Israelites went to Ba'al and the Pharisees created man-made religious observances. They didn't trust that what the Lord had provided was sufficient for their daily and eternal needs. There had to be something else. Their searching for this lost city of satisfaction always ended in heartache.
And all this goes back to this question of being satisfied.
Is Jesus really enough for you? Is what He has given of Himself at the Cross and promised through our great comforter the Holy Spirit adequate in your mind to give you the strength to face the day? Or do you need something else, or someone else?
To close hear these words of the Apostle Paul from Ephesians 3:14-19
"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
It’s time today to just stop. Stop looking in all the wrong places, in the wrong people for joy and happiness. You can only find it in Jesus. In Him and Him Alone. He truly is enough for you.
In today's worship and prayer help I have a bit more of a read than I've normally given out for this devotion. So save it for your lunch break or for tonight when the kids are in bed. It is a sermon from Charles Spurgeon entitled, "The Fulness of Christ Received!" from John 1:16. I pray it is a blessing to you as it was for me.
https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/the-fulness-of-christ-received/#flipbook/
Y'all have a great day in His grace.
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church