I Cain’t Get No Satisfaction

A great many people do not pray because they do not feel any sense of need. The sign that the Holy Spirit is in us is that we realize we are empty, not that we are full. We have a sense of absolute need. We come across people who try us, circumstances that are difficult, conditions that are perplexing, and all these things awaken a dumb sense of need, which is a sign that the Holy Spirit is there. If we are ever free from the sense of need, it is not because the Holy Spirit has satisfied us, but because we have been satisfied with as much as we have. “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.” A sense of need is one of the greatest benedictions because it keeps our lives rightly related to Jesus Christ.

-- Oswald Chambers, If You Will Ask, p.54, Discovery House Publishers

Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled.

-- Matthew 5:3,6

Then He told them this parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? I will do this,’ he said, ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared – whose will they be?’”

-- Luke 12:16-20

How many times have you heard someone say,
‘If I had his money, I could do things my way.’
But little they know that it’s so hard to find,
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.

(By the way, in my opinion, the definitive version of “Satisfied Mind” was done by Johnny Cash late in his career with just an acoustic guitar accompanying. Someone told me it was on the Kill Bill II soundtrack, but I can’t vouch for that.)

Mick said satisfaction was impossible, but you could, possibly, get what you need. The Apostle Paul and Mr. Cash tell us to be content with what we have in a material sense, not to make striving after things or ego-gratifying conquests the goal of life. Jesus tells us to be poor in spirit, always hungry for more of God and that our purpose in life is not to accumulate wealth like we were running up the score in football game, but to enrich our spirit man, storing up treasure in heaven.

Frankly, too many Christians are satisfied with a nominal “salvation”, just getting to heaven. The Lord does not mean it to be so. Transformation cannot take place apart from a certain degree of need, as Chambers points out. It is not “ask, seek, knock”; it is ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; knock and keep on knocking. We are dealing with an infinite God, yet many are willing to be satisfied with a limited, finite deliverance and salvation.

Jesus said, “Be perfect.” I’m not there.

Look, I am not suggesting that we don’t have to rest now and then along the way, or that the Holy Spirit will not allow us to rest. It’s a long, hard road. I talked about the “resting places” of John 14:2 a while back. Jesus will meet us there when we need a break, when we need rest, nourishment, and strength. But it is only for today then it’s time to move on. There’s another stage of the journey waiting for us tomorrow. Just don’t mistake Motel 6 for home.