For both health and spiritual reasons, I\u2019ve decided to abstain from certain foods for the next few weeks.\u00a0 Mainly, those foods are everything I love and the denial of them is proving very difficult.\u00a0 While I am eating things that are much better for me, the whole grain pasta I had last night simply doesn\u2019t satisfy.\u00a0 Neither does the salad with oil and vinegar dressing nor the wheat tortilla PBJ with natural peanut butter.\u00a0 I eat three meals a day, but I am not satisfied.\u00a0 And it got me thinking how many things we pursue in life that simply do not satisfy us.\u00a0 We chase an astonishing array of pleasures, from food to alcohol to spending, and none of it leaves us full.\u00a0 Quite honestly, it\u2019s why we have addictions and debt.\u00a0 It\u2019s why so many of us are heartbroken and hungry for more.\u00a0 What we spend so much time pursuing just doesn\u2019t deliver.\u00a0 And the truth is, it was never meant to.\u00a0 I believe that we were created with a need, a hunger, for far more than this world can provide.\u00a0 There is something within the deepest part of our hearts that knows the trappings of this earthly realm will never be enough.<\/p>\n
Psalm 145:16 says, \u201cYou open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.\u201d\u00a0 As usual, I was curious what promises might lie hidden behind that verse, so I got to work.\u00a0 And while the verse is fairly straight forward, there was one small word that turned out to be more significant than I initially thought.\u00a0 The word \u201copen\u201d is the Hebrew word pathach and the literal translation is \u201copen wide.\u201d\u00a0 Open wide.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about you, but that feels a little different than just \u201copen.\u201d\u00a0 When I think of opening something wide, I think of my front door and I think of the fact that I don\u2019t open it wide very often.\u00a0 Most of the time, I am reserved regarding just how far I\u2019ll open it and for whom.\u00a0 I may not want to let everything or everyone in.\u00a0 I may want to hold some things back.\u00a0 But when God extends His hand to us, it is open wide.\u00a0 He holds nothing back.\u00a0 He does not wait for us to have our house in order or our ducks in a row.\u00a0 He bestows all of His blessing and grace without condition or reservation.\u00a0 All He has to offer is ours for the taking.<\/p>\n
But we must take it.\u00a0 God will certainly not force it upon us.\u00a0 It is our choice, every day, to reject the shiny, glimmering enticements of this world and choose what will truly satisfy.\u00a0 I admit, the choice is often extremely difficult.\u00a0 You see, generally God\u2019s offerings don\u2019t shimmer and shine the way the enticements of the world do.\u00a0 But truth be told, when is the last time this world\u2019s charms and temptations provided lasting satisfaction?\u00a0 When is the last time a purchase or indulgence satisfied you for any real length of time?\u00a0 I can say, with all honesty, that any pleasure, sustenance or fulfillment I have derived from the allures of this earthly domain are fleeting and temporary.\u00a0 Furthermore, I am all too quickly hungry for more.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, this is not the case with God.\u00a0 As David so pointedly writes, God \u201csatisfies the desire of every living thing.\u201d\u00a0 He meets our needs completely.\u00a0 He offers peace, joy, grace and mercy that extend far beyond immediate gratification.\u00a0 If we approach God\u2019s wide open hand with wide open hearts, the blessings will come fast and furious and, most importantly, they will remain.\u00a0 And they will satisfy.<\/p>\n