January 15th, 2010 A Satisfied Heart
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12, NIV.
Anyone who knows me through friendship, teaching, counseling or books, knows that my experience of God has been measured from the beginning by His ability to satisfy my heart. I learned early on that God doesn’t provide a charmed, perfect life; but He does offer in friendship and fatherhood and kingship everything my heart needs. He doesn’t promise to remove every enemy, but he does set a table before me even in their presence, undaunted, faithful, able.
My confidence in God’s ability to satisfy my heart arose from simply reading the Psalms and Proverbs for each morning’s devotions, where the language of this truth lurks around every page.
Consider a few excerpts from Psalm 62 and 63; first, an instruction to oneself and others: “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him….Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Being satisfied by God requires two things. First, one must believe that he can and will satisfy the heart; and two, bringing every need of the heart to him, offering him the opportunity to do so. This requires refusing to turn to other things and people to meet these needs — which is usually futile anyway — and turning your face to the Father in trust.
The needs I speak of are more difficult to reach than needing rent money or a new job. The needs I have taken to my Father are the need to be satisfied in my longing for justice when I have been treated unjustly; to be understood when misunderstood; to be heard when no one else is listening; to find rest for my heart in a storm of unruly emotions; to have fullness of heart while waiting for God or others to come with what has been promised.
Returning to Psalms 62 and 63 we find this declaration: “My soul finds rest in God alone.” It teaches us the greatest lesson: that cultivating a longing for God himself is the sure path to a heart that lives full:
“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water….I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”
In the deepest places where there aren’t even words to describe my need, God pours his life into my cup. As a daughter of Eve I have learned from her mistake; my goal is to never run to the tree of knowledge of good and evil to satisfy myself. And I refuse to listen to the devil’s lies, that God may be holding out on me or that he is unable or unwilling to give me His best.
I learned from the beginning that God can, and will, love me better than I can love myself. Jesus Christ is my tree of life, and his fruit is never deceptive. It never looks good in the hand and disappoints in the mouth — though the opposite may be true on occasion — it may be disappointing to the eye and taste like heaven.
May the Lord satisfy your heart in every way, and set you free of the neediness that makes you a beggar in body, soul or spirit. May the expectation that he will fill you up overtake every fear or false religion notion about God’s motives and responses to you. May the Holy Spirit stir in you a deeper hunger for the Lord himself, whose love tastes better than the richest chocolate cheesecake!
January 15th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Bless you Tonia. Thank you for taking the time to press in to God's presence. Thank you for your finely crafted insights! It is a blessing to read your blog. Deeper hunger for the Lord! May we all seek Him and His reality, and cast aside our own foolishness for His abundant love.
Love you!
Bruce