Satisfied

All my life long I had a panted
For a drink from some cool spring,
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.

Refrain
Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.

Feeding on the husks around me,
Till my strength was almost gone,
Longed my soul for something better,
Only still to hunger on.

Poor I was, and sought for riches,
Something that would satisfy,
But the dust I gathered round me
Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of life so rich and free,
Untold wealth that never faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.

Written by Clara Tear Williams in the early 1900’s, I came across this hymn and thought it really related to this time of year.  To me, the heart of true thankfulness is an attitude of being satisfied, or content, with what the Lord has given us.  We shouldn’t just be thankful when the cupboards are full.  We shouldn’t just be thankful when the harvest is great.  True thankfulness doesn’t come from having a full bank account or from having all our needs and wants supplied.  True thankfulness is a perspective that says “Lord, I am satisfied in my station in life because You have supplied all my needs according to Your riches in glory.”  True thankfulness is not being okay with what you have and secretly longing for more, but true thankfulness is a satisfaction with where the Lord has placed us, and a satisfaction with what the Lord has given us.  I hope that as you approach Thanksgiving over the next week to ten days, that you pause and say “Lord, I am truly thankful because you have satisfied my longings.”

For those of you unfamiliar with this song, here’s a youtube link to a Gaither Vocal Band version of it.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Feeding on the husks around me” – This is a reference to the King James version of the story of The Prodigal Son found in Luke 15.  The Bible says in Luke 15:15-17 “And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”  Isn’t it interesting that this son had to get to the point where he was longing to eat the husks saved for the pigs before he recognized that his father had a sufficient supply of everything he needed?  The Bible says “when he came to himself.”  Sometimes, I believe, God has to bring us to the point where we reach rock bottom.  A place where we realize that we are living in filth and despair, and we then are reminded that the Father is there waiting for us.  With open arms.  With blessings beyond measure.  With forgiveness.  We sometimes have to travel to the far country and end up in dissatisfaction with every aspect of our life before we realize He is the only one that can give us life more abundantly.

• “Well of water, ever springing” – This too is a reference to a story in the Bible.  The story of Jesus and the women at the well found in John Chapter 4.  The Bible says “There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”  From Jesus response to her later in the Chapter, we find out that this women had also been looking for something to satisfy.  She had been married 5 times and the man she was living with was not her husband, but none of these relationships could satisfy the need in her heart for love, acceptance, and forgiveness.  There was only one spring that could satisfy that longing.  Jesus, the Well of Living water that is ever springing.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and been asked to fill out a Satisfaction Card?  You know the ones that ask you about the food, the service, and the prices.  Typically, you get the opportunity to rate those things on a satisfaction scale – Completely Satisfied, Somewhat Satisfied, Somewhat Dissatisfied, and Completely Dissatisfied.

So let me ask you a few satisfaction questions.

How satisfied are you with the spiritual food you have been eating?  In John 6:35 “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” If we are feeding on His spiritual food, we will always be Completely Satisfied.

How satisfied are you with your service? I Peter 4:9-10 reminds us “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”  If we are faithful stewards of the gifts we have, we can be Completely Satisfied that we are doing the Lord’s will and are doing Kingdom work.

How satisfied are you with the price?  Paul tells us in I Corinthians 6, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”  The price paid for your salvation completely satisfied God’s righteous requirements.  Lambs and bulls and doves could not satisfy.  Following the Pharisaical law could not satisfy.  Only the shed blood of Jesus could completely satisfy.

I pray today that you can have a true heart of thanksgiving, not just this season, but all year long.  That you can be satisfied with all the things that God has placed in your hands and in your life, and use them for the glory of His kingdom.