Spiritual Life
(What a Guy Named Louie Told Me About) Soul Satisfaction
By Jennifer E. Jones
Guest Writer
CBN.com
You broke the bonds and loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame…
You know I believed it
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
- U2, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
“So what did you think?”
Our 20/30something ministry leader stood in front of our group, pushing his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. Behind him, paused and projected on our blank wall, was Passion conference leader Louie Giglio. He had just finished talking about satisfaction.
“I want to invite you tonight to run with everything you’ve got into the embrace of Jesus Christ, to know that He will meet you there, to taste and see that the Lord is good, and to unite your heart to His in a love affair with the King of all creation, because here’s why… Our satisfaction and God’s glory are the same thing. Your satisfaction [means] God doing something in you that no one else can do. [It is] you getting what you need – you getting connected to God, filled, blessed, healed, restored, redeemed, alive, freed, put your own words around it… God is into you. You should be into God. And when you get into the God who’s inviting you to be into Him, you will then become satisfied in Him. Then He’ll be the thing glorified in your life.”
“OK, we’re gonna end this session with some worship," our group leader said. "Everybody find a spot, and I’ll turn on the music. We just want to renew our commitment to God tonight.” He walked back to the projector and played a performance from the Passion DVD. Everyone began praying and praising God. I sat in my seat, still thinking about the message.
“We could have a thousand Passion conferences, and your fellow classmates and the people in your city will still never hear the name of Jesus until somebody sinks their teeth into the Son of God and discovers that He really satisfies the soul.”
‘Is that me? Have I truly tasted and seen that the Lord is good? What does that even mean?’ I wondered. ‘I’ve been a Christian for most of my life. I know God, but can I say that I am completely satisfied by Him?’
We eventually ended our group time together. We ate pizza, talked about new hair cuts and the new co-ed softball team. My friends and I adjourned to my house where we talked about the upcoming school year and how funny my dog looks with a pony tail.
I was enjoying the company, but the question still lingered in my mind. I even made up an excuse that I needed to walk the dog one more time around the block just to get alone with God and my thoughts.
I invite you to come along on this walk with me, because I know I’m not alone in this.
All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough
– Chris Tomlin, “Enough”
Does God really satisfy you? We sing songs in church about it all the time. We call Him our everything and our all in all. But do we know that deep down inside of us to the point where it's as basic as gravity?
If you’re like me, you’re restless. You’re always wanting something – always striving. Our prayer lists are never empty, are they? We need this. We need that. We’re needful things. We’re never really satisfied.
Author Michelle McKinney Hammond often says that the void we feel on the inside is a "God-shaped hole." St. Augustine wrote the often-quoted ode to God: "You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." The reason most of us got saved is that we realized that we needed something outside of ourselves to complete us. Yet, we quickly learn that mere salvation doesn't make your life any easier. You're still lonely or scared or doubtful. You're still wanting.
The Lord is my Shepherd
I shall not want
- Psalm 23:1
If God is God and the Bible is right, then He is all we need. As Louie said, there is a level of satisfaction that you can come to in Him -- where you and the Lord are so close that your hearts break over the same things; where you know His voice; and where He's closer than your next breath. But how do you get there?
Perhaps it’s just me, but there’s an idea out there that claims a real, living and breathing, everyday relationship with God is entirely too lofty for the human spirit. To abide and commune with the Lord is something only eunuchs and nuns do. The rest of us have to exist in this world. We have to pay bills, go to work, and run the rat race. Church and Bible study are penciled in, and you only break the prayer glass in case of emergency. The kind of intimacy with God that our pastors talk about is not really feasible in today’s world.
That’s not only a lie. It’s an awesomely bad lie.
Love is out there. He’s real. We can experience Him on a level that’s unheard of. How do I know? Because it's been done before.
David blows my mind every time I read his words in Psalms 27:4. “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple” (KJV)." I like to think of it like this: David only wanted one thing and made his life about that one thing. He wanted to be in God's presence, to see how amazing He was, and talk to Him all the time. I want to be there too. And as I look back over my walk, I wonder why I haven’t gotten there yet. Why aren't all of us there?
It's not because He's not waiting. He's wherever you are, looking you dead in the eye and saying, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelations 3:20 NKJV).
I suppose this article raises more questions than it answers, but I believe all of our paths to Jesus Christ look a little different. The most important part of the journey is not the end but the first step.
Lord, I want to find true satisfaction in You. I want You to be everything to me. I know there’s a place in You where You're more real to me than anything. I want to know that place. Can You take me there?
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