Our Eternally Satisfying God

You may be seated.

Well, this morning we're going to be in Psalm 63, so if you have a Bible, pop that open.

If you don't, there's one in the back of your pew.

Feel free to use your phone app if you need to use that.

I won't be offended.

Psalm 63.

I don't know if you have a list of movies or videos that you could just watch and re-watch and re-watch,

but for me it's Planet Earth.

It's a nature documentary by the BBC.

Anybody seen it?

Oh, full hands.

Yeah.

It's just like a visual display of God's beauty and creativity and power.

I love watching that.

And recently I sat down to watch an episode of Planet Earth with my kids, and the focus of this episode was deserts.

And the one thing that you had to grab from this episode, you couldn't help but understand,

was that in the desert, everything revolves around where creatures find their water, or how they find their water.

Without water, no creatures.

So, for example, there's this little beetle in the Nabib Desert in Africa that has a very interesting way of finding its water.

It climbs the sand dunes every morning.

It's the equivalent of like 10 Everests for us.

I mean, this gigantic sand dunes, this little tiny beetle going up to the top of the sand dunes.

And he does it before the sun rises.

And he does it because there's this fog that blows in pretty consistently from the nearby Atlantic Ocean, miles away.

And once he gets to the top, he does a little handstand.

And he stays like that for a long time.

And he just stays still at about a 45-degree angle, head down.

And what happens is the water droplets from the fog stick to his back.

And eventually, more and more little tiny water droplets stick to his back.

And they become bigger water droplets.

And they get some gravity moving on them.

And then eventually, the water droplets move down his back and through little channels on his head and into his mouth.

Isn't that brilliant?

Our God is so creative.

That's how this beetle gets his water in the desert.

And there's this chameleon that snags the beetle.

And that's how the chameleon gets his water in the desert.

It's pretty great.

Little buggy eyes.

If you're in the desert, you will do whatever you have to do to get water.

You might be thinking that this morning in this hot sanctuary.

Notice I'm preaching in shorts.

You long for water.

You pant for it.

Because it's the only thing that can satisfy you.

And David, the author of our psalm this morning, is in the desert.

And he is longing.

He is thirsting.

But his thirst is not for water.

Let's read this psalm together.

Psalm 63.

A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness.

Literally, the desert of Judah.

Oh God, you are my God.

And earnestly, I seek you.

My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh faints for you.

As in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So, literally, in this way, I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and your glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life.

My lips will praise you.

So, I will bless you as long as I live.

In your name, I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food.

And my mouth will praise you with joyful lips when I remember you on my bed.

And meditate on you in the watches of the night.

For you have been my help.

And the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you.

Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth.

They shall be given over to the power of the sword.

They shall be a portion for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God.

All who swear by him shall exult.

For the mouths of liars will be stopped.

So, David is in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

But his soul thirst is even more than his need for hydration.

He is thirsting for the living God.

It's hard to miss how, as we kind of move through this psalm, he starts off in verse 1, longing, thirsting.

But by the time we get to verse 5, he is talking about being satisfied.

So, he moves from this psalm from a place of thirst and parchedness of soul.

And he moves and he is able to be satisfied in God's presence.

And that's the big idea of this psalm.

God satisfies those who thirst for his presence.

God satisfies those who thirst for his presence.

But what does it mean to be satisfied in God?

What does that look like?

We can't put God into a glass and drink him.

We can't see him.

What does it look like for our soul to be satisfied in God?

Well, as we go through this psalm together, I want us to think about it as a four-piece puzzle.

And each puzzle piece is going to give us a clearer, more complete picture of what it looks like to be satisfied in God.

Little snapshots that are going to give us a picture of what that looks like.

And at the end, we're going to tie it together and see how it kind of hits us right where we're at in our here and now in 2018.

So, let's dive in.

The first puzzle piece is this.

Being satisfied in God means thirsting for God.

Being satisfied in God means thirsting for God.

It's a bit of stating the obvious.

But you can't be satisfied unless you have a desire that needs to be satisfied.

You can't experience the ah of a long, cool drink of water unless you've been working up a thirst that needs to be quenched.

To be satisfied in God means you have to know that you need Him.

And that's where David is at.

He knows that he needs God desperately.

Look at verse 1.

Three verbs.

He gets it again and again and again.

This passionate yearning for God.

Earnestly seeking.

Thirsting.

Fainting.

He's like a man desperate for water in the Sahara Desert.

He's stumbling his way toward God and hoping it's not a mirage.

It affects him inside and out.

Body and spirit.

Notice his soul inside thirsts for you.

But my flesh, my body faints for you.

It's an all-consuming desire, not for water, for the living God.

Now, it'll be helpful for us to know just a tad bit about why David's in the desert.

He's most likely, it could be when Saul was pursuing him before David became king.

There's probably more likely it's when David is being pursued by Absalom, his son, who is revolting against David and trying to take the kingdom from David.

And this forced David out of his capital city of Jerusalem because Absalom is marching an army from Hebron to basically kill David and overthrow the city.

And so David and his faithful followers flee to the desert for safety.

So not only is he in a desert where there is little water, he's also unsure of how he and his followers are going to survive there.

His soul is in turmoil.

His own son has revolted against him.

Everything that had been certain in his life is now coming unglued.

He had no idea if he would remain king, if the people would remain loyal to him.

Everything is up for grabs for David.

And it's in the midst of this uncertainty and this danger that David's true character comes out.

He composes this poem right in the middle of this chaos.

And he tells God how desperate he is.

But not desperate for a resolution to his problems.

He tells God how desperate he is for God.

For God himself.

You are my God.

Earnestly I seek you.

My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh faints for you.

There is in every human soul a longing.

It is a deep set longing.

It's hard to put words on it.

But it's a thirst that accompanies our every thought, our every motive.

We were made to know the living God.

Not to know about him.

Not to nod to certain truths about who he is.

But to know him personally.

To have a real satisfying relationship with him.

Because we bear his image.

He stamped on us his very image.

We can't help but thirst for him.

Every human being has this longing.

And I bet you felt this before.

I bet you felt this thirst before.

Maybe it was like after a great triumph or a success.

And you're in the midst of celebrating good things.

But then in the back of your mind there's this whisper of, is that it?

Tom Brady, famous quarterback for New England Patriots,

was once quoted in an interview more than 10 years ago

after he won his first three Super Bowls,

of basically saying, yeah, I've arrived.

Is that it?

The guy's on top of the world.

The guy has everything that our culture says is it.

And he's like, there's got to be something else.

Or maybe it's when you behold the night sky.

And you get this little glimpse of the grandeur,

the mystery, the greatness.

And you've got this thirst that gets awakened inside of you of,

I want that something more.

You and I were meant for the ultimate greatness of knowing

and experiencing the unshielded glory of the living God,

and we can't help but thirst for it.

And we chase it down.

We chase it down in the pleasures we pursue,

the successes we strive for,

the relationships we foster.

We're looking for it.

The ultimate joy, the ultimate security,

the ultimate love that only God can actually give.

But we tend to look in the wrong places.

We are hardwired to be satisfied with the glory of God,

but our rebellious hearts turn away from it.

Our hearts twist and they corrupt this thirst

into a thousand counterfeit longings.

Just like Jeremiah said, God said through Jeremiah,

my people have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters,

and they have hewed out, carved out,

broken cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

We tend to trade the real thing for the cheap things

that don't satisfy.

So here's the question that God's word

is confronting us with this morning.

What are you thirsting for?

Where are you seeking satisfaction?

If you would be truly satisfied,

God and God alone is the only one

who's able to provide that.

David knew that.

So he was yearning,

desperately panting for the living God.

With that on our minds,

let's move to the second puzzle piece

of verses two to four.

Second puzzle piece is this.

Being satisfied in God means

treasuring him as he has revealed himself.

Treasuring him as he has revealed himself.

So David turns a corner from his expression

of thirst for God

and starts recalling

how he had beheld God

in the holy temple in Jerusalem.

Look at verse two.

That so there,

she's really literally

in the same kind of longing way.

It's kind of what that so stands for.

I have looked upon you in the sanctuary.

So in the past,

David has drawn near to God

where God could be found

because God has always been

a God who dwells with

and resides with

and reveals himself

to his people.

And in this time period,

for David,

it was in the tabernacle,

a special tent

that God had set up

with the Ark of the Covenant.

It's a place that God's

concentrated glory

dwelled with his people.

And David,

because he loved God,

he wanted to be with God,

he would be there.

He would constantly go

to the temple

to behold God,

to get as close as he could

through offering of sacrifices,

through the help of priests

to mediate God's presence to David.

He would want to be there.

So verses 2 and 3 tell us

that David had seen

and come to know

and treasure at least three things,

three aspects,

three facets about God,

beholding,

verse 2,

your power

and your glory,

and then verse 3,

because your steadfast love

is better than life.

So there's these three facets

of God's valuing

that David just latches onto.

And he sees it

and he beholds it.

And what was David's response to that?

Look at verse 3.

He treasures God

more than life itself.

He's seen God

as God has revealed himself

and he is treasuring God

more than life itself.

This is an astounding statement.

Look at verse 3.

Because your steadfast love

is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

Better than life?

That statement should just smack us.

We just can't move past this

too quickly.

David values

and treasures

God's steadfast love

more than the breath

in his lungs.

More than the sweetness

to the best of friendships

or the feeling of sunshine

on his face

or watching his children play.

David is saying,

if you take all the joys

and pleasures

and good things

of this life

and you stack them

on one end of the scale

and then you put

God's steadfast love

on the other end of the scale,

it's no contest.

David would prefer death

than to lose out

on the steadfast love

of God.

It's astounding.

Man, how could that be true?

What could be better

than living,

than life itself?

Isn't anything preferable

to death?

Not according to David.

Knowing and treasuring

the God

who reveals himself

by grace

and who dwells

with his people

by grace

is better

than life.

And in response

to this

three-fold vision

of who God

has declared himself

to be,

his power,

his glory,

his steadfast love,

David pours out

three pourings,

verbal proclamations

of praise.

He says in verse 3,

my lips will praise you.

Verbally,

he's praising you,

but not just verbally,

but with his life.

I will bless you

as long as I live.

In your name,

I will lift up my hands.

It's this bodily expression

of saying,

God, you're worth

more than life itself.

So with all of David's being,

he's saying,

I treasure you

more than anything else.

Praise is an overflow.

When you delight in something,

you can't help

but praise it.

And to use one author's words,

praise completes

the enjoyment

of something.

Hopefully,

we don't praise God

because we have to.

Because what we do

on a Sunday morning,

we praise God

because we have come

to know and treasure him

as he has revealed himself

and we can't help

but say,

yes,

that's true

with my whole being.

This expression

of devotion

should just shake us

to our core.

It's been doing that

to me all week.

Do I know God

like that?

Do I treasure God

like that?

Do I seek him

in the place

he has revealed himself

and treasure him

more than life itself?

But more than just

kind of shaking us up

and helping us

see our priorities,

it should also

stimulate our faith

because if this is true,

just think about it,

if this is true,

then we worship a God

and we know a God

and we treasure a God

who is literally

better than life.

Which is why Christians

don't have to flinch

in the face of death

because we are going

to our eternal reward.

It's better.

Jesus is better in this life

and in the next.

There's a greater joy,

a greater satisfaction,

an ultimate delight

in goodness

that goes beyond

all the hard,

difficult things

and even goes beyond

all the fleeting,

temporary good things

of this life.

It goes beyond it.

It's all a feather

on the scale

compared to the weighty

joy of knowing God

now and forever.

Do we believe that?

Do we believe that?

Let's move to the third

puzzle piece,

verses five to eight.

Being satisfied in God

means thirsting for Him.

Being satisfied in God

means treasuring Him

as He has revealed Himself.

Thirdly,

being satisfied in God

means striving

to savor His sufficiency.

Striving to savor

His sufficiency.

Pastor Mike was talking

about savoring

the love of God

in communion.

We're going to talk

about savoring

in this point.

We can't help but see it.

I've got a weakness

for Pixar movies.

Anybody with me?

One of my favorites

is Ratatouille.

Anybody like that one?

It's this great movie

about Remy

who's a rat

in France

who instead of

eating garbage

has developed a taste

for fine French cuisine

and he learns

how to cook it.

And there's this one scene

where he's trying

to teach his brother

Emil

how to savor food.

Emil is rather large

and he likes to just

stuff food in his mouth

as fuel.

But Remy's like,

no, no, no, no.

Slow down.

He tries rather unsuccessfully

to try to combine flavors

in the palate

for Emil

and to perceive

the beautiful music

they make together

on the palate.

And David is doing

some savoring

in this section.

My soul will be satisfied

as with fat

and rich food.

And my mouth

will praise you

with joyful lips.

We could translate

fat and rich food

into succulent

filet mignon.

The finest

of foods.

David is sitting down

at a fine feast.

He is slowly chewing,

enjoying the flavors

and he's praising

with words of joy

what he is tasting

but he's not chewing

on food.

He is remembering God.

He is meditating

on God.

Meditating,

you shouldn't be scared

of that word.

It's just the art

of savoring

who God is.

Mentally chewing

on the truth

we know about God.

And David's doing that

right here.

But it's hard work.

It takes striving.

It takes fighting

to turn your thoughts

toward God.

And David is doing that.

He is on his bed.

Remember,

he is in the desert

running for his life.

What kind of thoughts

are naturally

coming to his mind?

Anxiety,

fear,

maybe depression,

despair.

And instead,

he's taking

those thoughts

and he's

putting them aside

and he's turning

his eyes

and he's saying,

no,

I will chew on

the truth

about what I know

who God is.

And then he begins

to find his soul

satisfied.

And we know

what he's chewing on.

It's high,

savory thoughts

of God's sufficiency.

Look at verse 7 and 8.

For you have been

my help

and in the shadow

of your wings

I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you

and your right hand

upholds me.

So God

has been

and is presently

David's help.

And he uses

this beautiful picture

of a baby bird

being sheltered

under the shadow

of his mother's wings.

So he's resting

in the parental

and affectionate

care of God

who is his help.

And it's in his

most vulnerable,

private,

exposed moments

where his mind

could go anywhere else

for comfort

and shelter.

He goes to God.

And he's singing

for joy

because his soul

has arrived

at the place

of savoring

high thoughts

of God's

sufficiency.

sufficiency.

And it's not just

because God

shelters him

from danger,

not just because

of what God

does for him,

but because he

is near to God

like a baby bird

is near his mother.

And God is all

he needs.

God is all

he wants.

God is his

full sufficiency

and David

is satisfied.

And David's

anxiety

is turned

into joyful

satisfaction

in the process

of striving

to savor

the sufficiency

of God

in his most

vulnerable

moments.

In our age,

not only do we

have our

anxieties

and our fears

to occupy

our minds,

we also have

a thousand

distractions.

They tend

to get flashed

at us on screens,

whether big

or small,

and they can

easily occupy

our thoughts

until kingdom

come,

if we let them.

we must

strive

as God's

people

to be satisfied

with high,

savory thoughts

of God's

sufficiency.

We must,

we must

strive

to aim

our thoughts

at him

in our most

private moments,

whether it's

driving in the car

or laying in bed.

Where

do you turn

for satisfaction?

What do you

meditate on

to bring contentment

to your soul,

to quench

your thirst?

Let's move

to the last

puzzle piece,

verses 9

through 11.

The last

puzzle piece

is this,

being satisfied

in God

means joyfully

anticipating

his promised

deliverance.

Joyfully

anticipating

his promised

deliverance.

You see,

he changes

tone in verses

9 and 10.

He starts

talking about

his enemies,

those who are

seeking to destroy

his life,

but it's

interesting

that it's

taken him

so long

to get

to his

enemies,

isn't it?

David's

been so

caught up

with his

intense

longing for

and satisfaction

in God

that just

now is he

bringing his

danger

to the

foreground

of his

thoughts.

His eyes

are so

focused

on God

and he's

utterly

confident

that God

will deliver

those who

trust in

him and

those who

long for

him.

He knows

that the

tables are

going to be

turned.

He knows

that for

those who

trust in

God,

there is

deliverance.

He's running

for his

life now,

but he knows

that ultimately

it's his

enemies that

will be

delivered over

death and

given over

to the

sword.

And just

as God

is satisfying

his deepest

longings,

ironically,

he also

is going to

satisfy the

longings of

some hungry

jackals who

are going to

feast on the

flesh of his

enemies.

It's a little

gruesome,

but it's this

vivid expression

of confidence

that God

will ultimately

be seen to

be just and

right at the

end of the

day.

That God

will deliver

those who

trust in

him.

And those who

are bent on

evil will

eventually be on

the receiving end

of the evil they

seek to

perpetrate.

So one day,

lying lips will

be stopped

up.

Evil will

cease.

God is ultimately

in control and

because God is

good and because

he is just,

he will punish

evil and he

will make all

things right.

And this

causes David to

just rejoice all

the more in

verse 11.

But the king

shall rejoice in

God.

But not only

David, all those

who are loyal to

God and to

the king.

In other words,

all of God's

people who seek

to satisfy their

deepest longing in

God will ultimately

rejoice at the end

of the day.

God will bring

about his

ultimate deliverance.

He is our only

and he is our

ultimate hope.

That things will

be set right.

So our puzzle is

complete.

God satisfies those

who thirst for his

presence.

We've seen what

this looks like for

David in Psalm 63.

Thirst for him,

treasuring him as

he's revealed himself,

striving to savor

his sufficiency,

joyfully anticipating

his promise,

deliverance.

But where does that

hit us today?

How does that

meet us where we

are in 2018?

Well, I'm sure

we've all felt the

weight of this

psalm.

It's a joyful

weight, but it's a

bit of a sober

weight.

As we've walked

through it, we

feel the tension

in this psalm of

like, yeah, I want

that, but I'm not

really there.

Or I strive for

that, but I fall

short of seeking

to quench my thirst

fully in God like

David is here.

here.

It's like, am I

joyfully aiming all

of my longing at

God?

Well, kind of.

My best moments, or

maybe not really.

I know I tend to

value my own

precious life and

all of its

temporary promises

more than the

electric experience

of knowing the

steadfast love of

God that is better

than life.

we are guilty of

putting our ultimate

confidence in and

seeking our ultimate

longing in other

things.

This psalm exposes our

deepest longing, but

it also reveals our

most grievous failure

to satisfy that

deepest longing in the

only place that it can

be satisfied.

And this has been our

problem, humanly

speaking, from the

beginning, right?

Adam and Eve in the

garden were utterly

content in God's

presence.

They were the only two

who had experienced

the unshielded glory and

favor and pleasure of

the living God, and yet

they made the conscious

choice to find their

delight in their own

self-sufficiency.

You will be like God.

And they bought the

lie, and we do too.

We dig broken, muddy,

empty cisterns for

ourselves instead of

going to the fountain

of living waters.

But what's astounding is

that our God still says,

come.

Flip over to Isaiah 55

for a second.

Isaiah 55.

It's not too far away

from Psalm 63 to the

right.

Isaiah 55.

God still says, come.

He's beckoning.

And in Isaiah's day,

he's beckoning to an

unfaithful covenant

people who are

constantly going all

over the place except

for seeking the living

God.

And he still tells his

unfaithful people, come.

Come to me.

Isaiah 55, verse 1.

Isaiah 55:1

Come, everyone who

thirsts, come to the

waters.

And he who has no money,

come, buy, and eat.

Come, buy wine and

milk without money

and without price.

Why do you spend your

money on things that

which is not bread and

your labor for that

which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me

and eat what is good

and delight yourselves

in rich food.

Incline your ear and

come to me.

Hear that your soul

may live.

Do you hear the echoes

of Psalm 63 there?

It's this invitation.

God's beckoning.

Come, satisfy your thirst

in me.

You can't earn it.

You can't buy it.

It's all of grace.

Just respond to the

invitation.

Drink deeply of the

living God.

Eat the food of my

living word.

Don't spend your money

on cheap invitation

stuff.

And God makes good

on this invitation.

He makes good on the

invitation to find

ultimate satisfaction

in himself when he

sat next to a well

on a hot, dusty day,

not unlike today,

outside an unimportant

Samaritan town talking

to a nameless Samaritan

woman in John chapter 4.

John 4 · chapter mention

And we overhear him

say,

everybody who drinks

of this water in this

well will be

thirsty again.

But whoever drinks

of the water that I

give him will never

be thirsty again.

The water that I give

him will become in him

a spring of water

welling up to eternal

life.

Or listen again to

God the Son speak in

John chapter 7.

John 7 · chapter mention

On the last day of

the feast, the great

day, Jesus stood up

and cried out,

if anybody thirsts

let him come to me

and drink.

Whoever believes in me

as the scripture has

said, out of his heart

will flow rivers of

living water.

Only in Jesus,

only in Jesus can we

know the thirst

quenching satisfaction

that comes from knowing

the living God and

experiencing his

presence.

Only in Jesus has God

fully and finally

revealed himself.

Only in Jesus can we

fully know the

steadfast love of God.

Only in Jesus can we

know what it means to

take shelter under the

wings, under the blood

that he shed for the

forgiveness of our sins

so that we can be in

God's presence unafraid.

And this is true of us

now if we are in Christ.

If you are in Christ,

you can really and truly

know God through Jesus

by the power of his

spirit.

That reference that

Jesus was making to the

rivers of living water

was pointing to God's

spirit.

Who is God's very living

and active presence

dwelling in and amongst

the people of God.

We don't have to go to

God's temple anymore to

be near his presence.

We have God the spirit

indwelling us.

Working in us.

Shaping our affections and

our longings to be more

and more aimed at finding

our satisfaction in him

through Jesus.

Listen to how Paul, the

apostle in Philippians 3,

listen to how the spirit of

God produces this longing,

this thirst, and this joy in

finding satisfaction in Jesus.

He says,

Indeed, I count everything

as a loss compared to the

surpassing worth of knowing

Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have suffered

the loss of all things.

I count them as rubbish in

order that I may gain Christ

and be found in him.

That I may know him and the

power of his resurrection and

share his sufferings, becoming

like him in his death, that by

any means possible I may

attain the resurrection from

the dead.

If Jesus is that satisfying,

then any loss of any

earthly thing, it's easy

compared to the ravishing joy

of knowing him.

And one day, by God's grace,

this partial reality will be

gloriously complete.

Because the rivers of living

water find their source, their

headwaters in the new heavens

and the new earth in the

unshielded glory and presence

of the living God and of the

Lamb.

In Revelation 22, there's this

beautiful picture.

It says, the angel showed me

the river of the water of life

in the city of God, bright as

crystal, flowing from the

throne of God and of the Lamb

through the middle of the

street of the city.

One day, we will participate and

partake of the joyous presence of

the living God and we will drink

it deep forever without ceasing

and we will be satisfied in him

and we will see his face.

We will literally behold him in

his holy place and we will be

satisfied.

satisfied.

So how should we respond to

this?

Well, first, if there are

competing joys and pleasures in

you that are taking the place of

the God who can alone satisfy you,

then repent.

Repentance is a beautiful word.

It's the only way by which we find

joy in the living God is from

turning from things that don't

satisfy and turn to the only one

who does satisfy.

So search your heart.

Ask God to search your heart.

Where am I finding joy and

satisfaction?

Ultimate joy and satisfaction,

not in you, Jesus.

Whether it's an affection or

approval of other people or in

success or comfort or control

of your circumstances, whatever

else you're trying to find your

satisfaction in, turn away from

it.

Turn to the one who can

ultimately only satisfy you.

Secondly, there are good things in

this life to enjoy.

Many of us are going to sit out

here and enjoy the Fourth of July

parade.

Good things.

We shouldn't be afraid to enjoy

good things.

So we need to ask God to give us

wisdom and discretion to put

legitimate joys and pleasures and

good gifts that he gives us in

their proper place.

It's good to experience a long,

cool drink of water and be

satisfied.

That's nothing wrong with that.

But we, you and I both know the

difference between seeking our

ultimate longing in something and

enjoying a good gift with

gratitude.

And that's what God wants us to

aim at.

So let's ask him for wisdom.

If there are things that are

pulling at your heart, then

repent of that.

But then ask him for wisdom to

enjoy him through these good

gifts he gives.

Thirdly, sometime today, this week,

take a step of faith toward God,

toward Jesus as your ultimate joy.

When you open your Bible this week,

take a step toward him and say,

satisfy me.

You know my longing for you.

Satisfy me.

Take a step toward him and ask him

to satisfy you with his steadfast love.

If you pray this evening, ask him to

delight your soul with savory thoughts

of his sufficiency.

Go to him in a step of faith.

It doesn't always feel natural.

It doesn't always feel really easy.

But take a step.

Or maybe it's in your most private

moments.

Maybe it's in the car.

Maybe it's in lying in bed.

And ask, satisfy me in your steadfast love.

Maybe it means a step of faith of fasting.

Fasting is the putting aside of a good,

legitimate thing like food and saying,

I'm going to put this aside for a moment

and I'm going to seek my real satisfaction

in God.

But take a step of faith and obedience

this week.

Just enjoy and be satisfied in God.

And lastly, if you've been listening

and you're aware that there's,

you have not tasted and seen

that Jesus is the all-satisfying one,

then come down after service

and we'd love to pray with you

that you would find your satisfaction

and find your deepest thirst quenched

in the living God.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Father, thank you for sustaining us

by your presence in your word.

Thank you, Father, that in you

we find our only satisfaction.

Help us now to turn to you in song

and with steps of faith and obedience

to find our greatest joy and satisfaction

in you and you alone.

In Christ's name, amen.