Can Get Satisfaction 

“But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”
Esther 5:13 (NIV UK)

“I can’t get no satisfaction”, written by Mike Jagger and Keith Richards, is one of my favourite songs from the 1960s. They’re right, I thought, nothing seems to satisfy no matter how hard you try: and I tried, of course, and I tried…and I tried.

Divine satisfaction is a theological conundrum. Can God be satisfied? If he can, it implies God has a need or something missing that has to be filled. But, if God is needy, how can he be God? Does it not challenge the very definition of God? If God is perfect, if he is all in all, how can he need to be satisfied?

What is definite, however, is that God alone is the provider of lasting satisfaction for us. This is something that the Haman did not understand. Haman was in high spirits as he anticipated eating at Queen Esther’s banquet along with the king. But when he saw something, or, rather, someone, that stood in the way of his ambitions, he lost his cool. In his way of thinking, satisfaction was all about getting his own way.

Biblically speaking, personal satisfaction is not about fulfilling our desires but about fulfilling God’s desires for us. In his “everlasting love” and “unfailing kindness” God “will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint” (Jeremiah 31:3, 25). Through conversion we cease to desire the things that hurt both us and other people, and our minds change so that we desire the things of God. In this there is satisfaction.

When you feel frustrated and unsatisfied because things are not going your way, turn to God and seek his ways. “Praise the Lord…who forgives all your sins…who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,who satisfies your desires with good things” (Psalm 103:2-5).

We can get satisfaction!

Prayer
Let your desires become part and parcel of how I think, and help me, Father, please, to find peace and satisfaction in them. In Jesus name.
Amen 

Study by James Henderson

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About the Author:
James Henderson is the National Ministry Leader for Grace Communion International in the UK and Ireland. This weekend James is speaking at our Irish Festival in the Salthill Hotel, Galway. You are welcome to attend any of our local congregations.  For details of your nearest local congregation, check on our website, www.wcg.org.uk under the ‘Churches’ tab, or ring +44 (0)1858 437099.

Contact:
Email:  admin@daybyday.org.uk