Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Psalm 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Ecclesiastes 1:8 All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing.

The word “satisfy” can have several meanings. It can mean to provide contentment by fulfilling desires or needs. It can mean to convince or give assurance. It can mean that objections and doubts are removed. A Christian should have all of these blessings because the Lord wants to satisfy the longing or empty soul. I believe that we are born with a spiritual hunger that cannot be satisfied until God Himself satisfies it. That is why the Lord is sometimes presented as the living water and sometimes He is presented as the bread from heaven.

I have a tract that is titled, “God is satisfied, are you?” While the tract addresses that question to unbelievers, the question could certainly be asked of those of us who are saved as well. God was satisfied with the death of His son and He proved it by raising Him from the dead. That sacrifice had sufficient value to save every man woman and child that has ever been born. But we didn’t receive the blessing of salvation that the sacrifice provides for us until we were satisfied with the death of Christ. When we were satisfied that God was satisfied, it was not difficult to rest on the Truth that Christ had died to save us. But now that we are saved, do we act like a satisfied people? Do we wrestle with the truths of Scripture? Do we have trouble getting along with other Christians? Do we wish we born richer or better looking or into a different social group? Some of us have trouble accepting ourselves and our lot in life, and we will never be able to be truly satisfied until we realize that God has accepted us just as we are, and we need to accept ourselves as well. That doesn’t mean that we should be satisfied when we sin. We shouldn’t be! But we should be satisfied with Christ and we should be satisfied with His Word. We should be satisfied with letting God be God.

Accepting things that we cannot change and accepting the will of God should keep us satisfied. One of my friends has said, “Acceptance… That’s sort of like saying, ‘Not my will, but Yours be done’, isn’t it? I think it’s key to our relationship with God. Always putting to death the self-will and feeding the ‘Christ-will’.”

If we were satisfied, I think we would be content. The natural appetites are normally never satisfied even though Paul could honestly say in Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” So if I am satisfied with Christ, I should be satisfied that He knows what He wants and that He knows what He is doing even in circumstances that I do not like or understand.

I have been asking myself if the Lord has really satisfied me. Or am I wrestling with Him like Jacob did in Genesis 32? Until I am satisfied with Christ, until I quit wrestling with Him and start trusting Him for the circumstances of life, until I start letting God be God; I am sure that I will never really enjoy the contentment and the assurance that comes with being satisfied. If I would always listen when He speaks, I am sure that He would answer my objections and dispel my doubts. I would be satisfied.

I hope someday to be able to honestly sing, “Now none but Christ can satisfy.” I don’t usually sing that song when we are asked to sing it in congregational settings because I know that it isn’t really completely true in my life. Often I labor for things that do not really satisfy when all the time satisfaction is available without work, without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1 and 2 says, “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.”

Bruce Collins