Psalm 119:57-64 The Message
57-64 Because you have satisfied me, God, I promise
to do everything you say.
I beg you from the bottom of my heart: smile,
be gracious to me just as you promised.
When I took a long, careful look at your ways,
I got my feet back on the trail you blazed.
I was up at once, didn’t drag my feet,
was quick to follow your orders.
The wicked hemmed me in—there was no way out—
but not for a minute did I forget your plan for me.
I get up in the middle of the night to thank you;
your decisions are so right, so true—I can’t wait till morning!
I’m a friend and companion of all who fear you,
of those committed to living by your rules.
Your love, God, fills the earth!
Train me to live by your counsel.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
As believers, we tend to say, ‘God is all I need’, but over any expanse of time we repeatedly learn that particular statement is not always true in our daily lives.
Many of us seek satisfaction in whatever form, if not perfection, in whatever form we can find it in our lives.
We want so very much to “live in the abundance of God” “abundant blessings of God,” to believe that God is enough, but yet we still chase fulfillment elsewhere.
I mean, who does not want significantly more than their own “fair share” of the abundance, the abundant life, which God offers to all His Children who believe?
Who does not want to feast on the “abundance of quail and manna” which God provided to the Israelites in their 40 plus years of circling the vast wilderness?
Who does not want to be the one’s to partake of the miraculous supply of food Jesus gave the thousands of hungry people from a few loaves of bread and fish?
Who wouldn’t want to have this prayer of Psalm 69:13 answered for their life;
But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable and opportune time;
O God, in the greatness of Your favor and in the abundance of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with truth [that is, the faithfulness of Your salvation].
The truth is: we were all designed for perfection—to be truly satisfied, to max out all their measures of “satisfaction” and this is why so many of us long for it.
If we look at the Bible in the very beginning, God created a perfect world for us to inhabit.
In Genesis, He designed for us to live surround by complete satisfaction.
It was indescribably beautiful, undeniably fulfilling, and beyond measure completely satisfying in every way – no sadness, emptiness, or confusion.
However, insert Adam and Eve.
Subtly enticed by the serpent, they made a choice against God’s will, and due to their choice, the consequences of their sin “dissatisfaction” entered the world.
So now, fast forward to today, we now live in a broken, fallen, sin-filled world.
But the great news is God is coming back for His people.
He promises in His forever Living and forever Active Word that He brings us back to perfection as Eden is restored in the last chapters of Revelation.
Revelation 21:3-5 The Message
3-5 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: “Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone.” The Enthroned continued, “Look! I’m making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate.”
The truth is this: the more we do crave and thirst for satisfaction in this fallen world we live in, the more disappointed we inevitably become, because it will never truly satisfy the longing placed in our hearts from the very beginning.
Everyone’s Never-Ending Hunger and Thirst
Our hunger and thirst for satisfaction starts from the first day we are born.
From the very first moments after we are born, we instinctively hunger and thirst for milk from our mother’s breast – and gorge ourselves when given it.
From the time we were children, we search to be satisfied with that new bike, new toys which help us interact with our environments, or a new video game.
We eagerly wait for all of those things we believe are going to make us happy.
As teenagers, we sought satisfaction in good grades, excelling in sports, making friends, comradery, our getting our very first car, or a boyfriend or a girlfriend.
As growing and maturing adults, we think of an education, a career, a spouse, a bigger house, children, or that one high-paying position will quench our thirst.
But always and forever in the end of it all, we are usually still left wanting more.
We are left with this gap, and time and time again; it is never fulfilled.
A gap between this fallen world and a world full of abundance and satisfaction.
There will always be a gap, otherwise we would never have a need for God.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 The Message
9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
Think about it: if all the things we sought after never disappointed us, leaving us hungry, thirsty for more, we would have no need to thirst after God Himself.
We would already be filled by ‘things’, leaving no room for God to be in our life.
As Christ followers, and because Christ gave his life for us, we can be 100% satisfied in God and God alone, even while living in this abundantly messy, abundantly stressful, very wide middle path between Genesis and Revelation.
We can learn to not just say the words, but rather believe the words: that God is all I need—He is enough.
God, Our Portion
Psalm 119:57-64 New King James Version
ח HETH
57 You are my portion, O Lord;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
58 I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
59 I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
63 I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.
With words such as “Though the wicked bind me with ropes,” the psalmist continues his lament in this section of Psalm 119.
The laments of this psalm are often raw and deep.
And yet we can sense that the psalmist finds safety in the promises and love of the Lord, the surest source of comfort and protection.
Notice that this section begins with the words “You are my portion, Lord. . . .”
This is likely a reference to the way God gave portions of the promised land to the tribes of Israel (see Joshua 13-21).
Allotments were given to all of the tribes except for the tribe of Levi, because God had dedicated the Levites to serve and lead in the worship of the Lord.
Their apportioned service to God included everything from offering sacrifices to teaching the law, and from leading in worship to taking care of all the materials used in the Tabernacle for worship (see Exodus 25-30).
As Joshua explained to the people, “The Levites . . . do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance” (Joshua 18:7).
In a similar way, the psalmist has nothing and no one but God to depend on.
The Lord is his portion, his inheritance.
In utter dependence and trust, the psalmist takes everything to God in prayer, including his laments.
With God as our portion, we too have the privilege of taking all our troubles and cares to the One whose guidance and instruction give us full life.
The Cup Which Satisfies
The way to be truly max satisfied in God is to fill your cup with Him daily—and please note here that I’m not referring to your salvation.
Being saved and being filled are two different things.
Being saved is when you accept Christ into your heart and commit your life to walking with Him.
This is the salvation you are given freely by the grace of God.
Your salvation never goes away. (John 3:16).
Being filled refers to God’s Holy Spirit, which is the gift Jesus left us after He died on the cross, filling you up.
As believers who accept Christ’s salvation, we have max access to this gift.
In fact, the “Holy Spirit lives in us” (John 14:17).
But we also live in our flesh, so we have to nurture our spirit daily.
The Holy Spirit is meant to fill us up to be our daily guide, counselor, “helper” and “teacher” and intercessor (John 14:15-18, 26, Romans 8:26-27).
How Can We Be Satisfied in God’s Presence?
John 14:15-18 New King James Version
Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 “If you love Me, [a]keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [b]Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Jesus’ disciples were upset.
For three years they had been with Jesus.
They had walked with him and talked with him.
And now he suddenly announces that he was about to leave.
How could they possibly go on without him?
How could they face the challenges of life without his daily presence?
In his farewell address the Lord Jesus put the disciples’ minds at ease.
He told them that his returning to the Father was for their good (John 16:7).
He promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would live in them and teach them about living for God.
And through the Spirit they’d be able to enjoy God’s presence always.
Through the Holy Spirit you and I can experience God’s presence every moment of the day.
All we have to do is ask.
As Jesus says in Luke 11:13, “If you … know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
The most important prayer we can pray each day is to ask for the all-powerful presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
When we have the Holy Spirit guiding us each day, we will not only experience the abundance of God’s presence in our own lives, but we’ll also be able to show God’s presence to others as we live God’s way, displaying the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Thank you Lord for leaving us with such a gift!
It is perhaps a worn out cliché to repeatedly say
“Nothing comes naturally to living in the Spirit.”
One day I can react to a situation in my flesh, while the next day I allow God to fill me up with the Holy Spirit, and my reaction can be completely different.
This is why daily filling up your cup and nurturing our spirit is so important.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 40:1-10 The Message
40 1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God.
At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.
4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
compares to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.
6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
so I can listen.
7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.
9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.
Lord God, Creator of all life, please fill us with your Holy Spirit and help us to show in our lives the fruit of the Spirit. We ask all this for Jesus’ sake and in his name. Amen.
Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 