Do you ever feel lost and wanting more, even after having everything that is necessary in life?
It’s actually quite common for all of us to feel unsatisfied with our current situations. Whether it be our jobs, studies, social life, friends, families, our health, environment, our status etc. we are often looking for something more; something that gives us a little more meaning to life; something that gives us a sense of achievement at the end of every day.
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. - Isaiah 58:11 (KJV)
The Lord has promised to guide us continually, and to satisfy our ‘soul’.
Notice here, the word is soul. When the Lord gives us something, he gives it in such a way that we are truly and utterly satisfied. This is because God does not only satisfy the desires of our hearts and minds, but he satisfies the soul, like the psalmist says in Psalms 107:9, “For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”
We have all experienced God’s goodness. Especially in times of need, He’s provided His guidance, peace and fulfillment in ways we thought we couldn’t even imagine. That is the specialty of God’s goodness, it goes right to the soul, His Word pierces our hearts, breaks every bondage and gives us the ultimate satisfaction that nothing or no one else on this earth, or heaven can give.
The issue here though, the longing that we have every day, is mostly because we do not seek God to fill up that void in our lives. How often do we ask God to open His hands? Psalms 145:16 says, “Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing.” Yes, the Lord is waiting to satisfy our desires that we have. He is ready to fulfill our needs. Are we ready to open up our hearts for Him and His Word to take root?
In view of Isaiah 58:11, we can see that, as with all promises from the Lord, there is always something that we need to follow.
The first part to vs. 10 says, “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul”. If we need God to satisfy our soul, we have a duty to draw our soul to the hungry, and satisfy those who are afflicted. Remember that the luxury we have today is not shared by many who work in the vineyard of the Lord. Those who do not have food to eat, clothes to wear, homes to stay, friends to talk to, families to care for, broken, torn, worn, weary and persecuted daily; all for the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
How often do we yearn for the satisfaction of these children of God who have sacrificed their own cravings and desires for the will of God to be fulfilled through their lives?
Does that mean that we, like them, have to leave aside all of our needs and our possessions and follow what the Lord has commanded to do?
If that is indeed our calling and we have our minds set on that, then we should not wait for anything else.
But every person has a separate calling, as implied in Romans 11:29, “For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office”, we are members of the body of Christ with different calling and responsibilities. This means that, our desires and preferences are to be always linked with the calling and we are “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called”. This is how God gives us the ultimate satisfaction. This is how the Lord satisfies our soul. Not just for a moment or even a day or a few weeks; but “continually”, in such a way that our lives will be like springs of waters, whose waters will never fail.
Joel Jacob