FINDING SATISFACTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and revering Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land - a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil, and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills. When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws, and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Deuteronomy 8:5-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”

These words from Moses form the foundation for today’s devotion as we focus on the matter of satisfaction. Israel was about to enter the land God promised them, a land that was flowing with milk and honey, a land that was sure to meet their needs. Moses affirms this saying:

"...the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land - a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil, and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.”

Certainly, these must have been wonderful words of assurance to the people of Israel who had been wandering the desert for forty years to get to this moment in time. The struggles they faced during their exile, struggles that so often left them hungry and thirsty, were about to be replaced with a rich abundance that would lead them to “lack nothing.” Surely, things were about to change for the Israelite people, definitely for the better.

Now, with this pending change, we see where there was an associated concern expressed by Moses:

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.”

In other words, don’t forget about the blessed, almighty Hand that feeds you.

Moses saw a potential danger in Israel’s newfound bounty and affluency, a danger grounded in them getting so comfortable in their new life of abundant goodness that they would forget to give thanks and praise to the One who made it all possible.

Because of this, Moses commands God’s people to “not forget the Lord”, cautioning them to not allow their heart to become proud which could lead to them taking all the Lord had done for granted. The hope was that the Israelites would develop and sustain a healthy attitude of gratitude, seeing the Lord’s provision in everything they were blessed, always being satisfied with that provision, and giving Him full credit for everything.

This message brings some questions for us as believers today.

For how satisfied are we with our own lives? Do we find ourselves being unsatisfied, coveting more at the expense of being grateful for what God has already done for us?

If we are comfortable in our life, have we allowed ourselves to reach a place where we maybe take the Lord for granted? Or worse yet, have we maybe gotten to a place where we see everything we have as coming from our own hand and by way of our own efforts instead of from the blessed Hand of the Lord, the Provider of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17)?

Friends, the bottom line is that we must consistently give God thanks for everything, whether in times of plenty or times of want, being satisfied and content no matter our circumstances. This means that we need to fight off a fixation with things, the possessions we have that can begin to possess us if we’re not careful.

To that end, thankfully we have the Lord, the One who is all we could ever hope for or ever need in life. When we make Him our greatest possession, then He in turn will possess us...and when this happens, then we will find the only true place of satisfaction in life, a satisfaction that perseveres and endures, a satisfaction that brings us peace and joy, now and forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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