Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, File' Gumbo

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March 24, 2020
Here’s a thought for the day …

Psalm 91:16 – With long life I will satisfy him…

Have you ever craved something?  Not just wanted it, but craved it?  I have to admit most of my cravings probably revolve around Cajun cooking!  Boiled crawfish … BBQ shrimp and grits … fried shrimp po-boys … crawfish etouffee!  I’m getting hungrier and hungrier as I’m typing this.  (Side note: Maybe it is true that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!). It seems that cravings hit all of us concerning different things from different places in different seasons.  Managing cravings is a part of life isn’t it?  Now here’s a question … have you ever gotten what you craved only to be disappointed in the end?  “It didn’t taste as good as I remembered it.”  “It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be!”  “It didn’t satisfy me like I thought it would!”  It can leave you feeling a disappointed and sometimes frustrated. 

As God wraps up His list of promises at the end of Psalm 91, He says in verse 16, “With long life I will satisfy Him...”  I have been thinking about that word satisfaction.  How much time, energy and resources do we spend trying to find satisfaction in this life.  The phrase “I will satisfy” means to “fulfill.”  We have such a tendency to look for fulfillment from things of this world.  Raise your hand if you’re guilty of that!  We look for fulfillment in our relationships. (spouses, children, friends) We seek fulfillment in our possessions. (homes, cars, money ... oh and motorcycles). We try to find fulfillment in our achievements. (businesses, hobbies, knowledge). But if we were being honest, we would admit that it’s impossible to find true and lasting fulfillment apart from God.  Why?

We were designed by our Creator to find our fulfillment in Him and Him alone.

Oh, we may find temporary satisfaction in what we can BUILD.  After all, being made in the image of God, we have this innate desire to want to build, to create and to bring forth life.   We may find temporary satisfaction in what we can CONSUME.  God filled the planet with sources of food and drink designed to please us and fill us.  We can experience temporary satisfaction in what we EXPERIENCE.  I believe the creation was designed to bring a certain sense of satisfaction to us by our Creator.  I can imagine as God was creating the trees and the forest, They thought that this will be a place where mankind will love to walk and wonder and meet with Me.  How about when They were creating the margin where the ocean ends and where the land begins?  Did They say to themselves that this will be a place where mankind will come and stare at the distant horizon or watch the majesty of a sunrise or sunset?  Did God create the mountains to fill mankind with a sense of awe and provide the ultimate playground for us to climb and explore.

But, while all of these were meant to please us, they weren’t meant to fulfill us.  That place was reserved only for God Himself.  In fact, to expect for people, places or things to fulfill us is to place them in the place that was designed only for God Himself.  You’ve probably heard the analogy that when God formed us, He placed a void within us reserved for Himself alone.  And no matter what we try to fill it with, it ultimately won’t satisfy us.  Only God can do that.  So how fitting that Psalm 91 draws to a close with God promising the very thing that we all search so hard for.  “I will satisfy you!”

I’m kind of curious on how you are doing with this.  Have you found Him yet?  Have you learned to find your delight and fulfillment in Him or are you still looking for the world around you to give you what only God can?  Do you find yourself looking for peace from the world around you?  Joy?  Love?  I can help!  Each of these are a facet of God’s nature.  He is peace!  He is joy!  He is love!  (Check out Galatians 5:22-23).  And He longs to come live with you and bring them to you.  

Don’t get me wrong.  I think it’s okay to desire pizza.  But don’t try to find fulfillment in cheese, tomato sauce, dough and pepperonis.  You will be left disappointed.  Even if it is deep dish!  (Okay … time to go get something to eat.) 

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