Satisfied With God

Photo Credit: Liz Griffin

April 1, 2025

Praying Friends,

Where do you find your supreme satisfaction?

What brings great pleasure to your life? What keeps you balanced in the midst of the emptiness and desperation of this world? What fills you with hope when life is overwhelming?

The psalmist was clear in his declaration of where his joy and fullness came from. He said, “You are my portion, LORD” (Psalm 119:57 NIV). When life was falling apart, when enemies were encroaching, and when his steps started wandering, he recentered and recalibrated with this truth: all he needed was his God.

This reminded me of the song by the famous music group, the Rolling Stones, who formed in the 1960s in London, England. I don’t know the whole song, but the lyrics of the often-repeated refrain were quite popular in my younger years:

I can't get no satisfaction

I can't get no satisfaction

Gonna try, and I try, and I try, and I try

I can't get no -

I can't get no -

No satisfaction

The message is clear: try as hard as you possibly can and still you can’t fill the eternal longings of the human soul with worldly temporal things.

From Psalm 119:57-64, which represents the Hebrew letter “Heth,” the writer states his claim and then his resolve to live in the good of that. This is how it goes in the NIV translation:

You are my portion, LORD; I have promised to obey your words. I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts. The earth is filled with your love, LORD; teach me your decrees.

This is how author James Boice put it, “The psalmist is saying that, like the Levites, he wants his portion of divine blessing to be God himself since nothing is better and nothing will ever fully satisfy his or anyone else’s heart but God himself. To possess God is truly to have everything.”

As the psalmist finds his satisfaction in his God, he responds with determined commitment to live his life for Him using language like, “I have promised to obey…I have sought your face…I have considered my ways…and have turned my steps…I will hasten and not delay to obey…I will not forget…I rise to give you thanks.”

This is the response of a person whose full joy is found in their Savior God. Our desire is to obey the One we have come to know and love. We look into His face and rejoice in His great love for us and from that place of acceptance and devotion, we adjust our behavior so that we are more aligned with Him. 

As the enemy tries to bring us into bondage, we allow the truth to combat the lies. This enables us to give thanks and praise our God even when we lie awake in the middle of the night.

This may all sound theoretical, but it happens with small steps and adjustments to our everyday lives.

It may mean committing to an extra 10 minutes of quiet time with God or putting a few prayer requests down on paper. It could involve five minutes of writing down what you are thankful for or how God has spoken into your life today. Maybe it means calling or texting that lonely person God keeps bringing to your attention.

Another important element that the psalmist mentions is the necessity of good friendships. We need to find those around us who have similar values, beliefs, and desires, so that we are not walking our lives alone, but supporting and encouraging each other.

As we pray for revival and for the prodigals, may God help us to find our true pleasure in Him, the One who promises to satisfy all our needs and longings.

Warmly in Christ’s name,

Bryan and Rachel