October 16, 2020
13 Rise up, Lord! Confront him; bring him down. With Your sword, save me from the wicked.
14 With Your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what You have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children. 15 But I will see Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence. – Psalm 17:13-15
I don’t think any of us believe that being satisfied could be seen as a negative thing. I, like most, grew up with a meaning of satisfied that was good and positive. Being satisfied meant that we were full, it meant that we had everything we desired, it meant that we didn’t want for anything.
In Psalm 17, David, prays to the Lord, this in a time when he is crying out for the Lord’s help. David says to the Lord, that those who want to have this world, power within it, prosperity within it, let them have it, let is spill over to the next generation too, the only thing I want, Lord, is that when I fall asleep, or when I leave this life, when I awake in the next, all I want to see is you. David understands what will truly satisfy the quest for more, it is the presence of God.
In the next generation, when we receive the proverbs, many believed and attributed to Solomon, son of King David. We read in the 27th chapter:
“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart, death and destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes. The crucible for silver and the finance for gold, but people are tested by their praise.”
Life was good for king David, and king Solomon, but there still had their troubles, and they still sought to find refuge and strength in God. Yet, we see them in the height of the kingdom that is Israel. We see them as the leaders of a great nation, teaching those who would come after them, but I wonder how much they remembered their past? I wonder how much they had in common with those whom we heard about in Exodus, who wondered in the wilderness, and saw the manna fall from heaven, saw how the rock split open to provide fresh water?
Even when we hear the stories of our own past, or we see how far we have come; the work that we put into making our lives; all that we have overcome, or our successes. We might have a desire for more, but we might find that we are satisfied with where we are. I would warn, however, that we not equate satisfaction with complacency.
Complacency is the danger of the church. It causes us to look out, see pain, suffering, anguish in the world, and think, ‘it’s not my problem.’ ‘Those aren’t my kids.’ It is when we have all that our hearts desire, it’s when we are filled with the things of this world, but we neglect and forget about the things that are beyond this world, as we are part of a kingdom that is eternal.
God calls to us, from the depths of history, from the very beginning of the prosperity of His people, and God says don’t forget me when you are blessed and satisfied. Don’t forget me when you have everything that you have ever wanted. Don’t forget all that I have done for you in sending my own son to save you from a life of sin. Don’t forget the Holy Spirit that resides in you, my presence in you, which is what I truly desire for you to want.
God wants us to want more of God. More of the love of God poured into us, that it might be poured through us, more love to truly bring healing, reconciliation, and unity in love to this world, as we strive for God’s kingdom here and forever. We will be satisfied one day, but we should be satisfied only with what king David says, the presence of our Lord with us now and always.
Grace & Peace,
Sam