Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name. ; who satisfies your desires with good things. Psalm 103:1,5 (NIV)

I’m gonna be honest with y’all. Over the last several weeks I have been throwing my own personal pity party. I have had that, “stomp my feet, cross my arms, ‘Why can’t I have this?’” attitude with God. I know… sounds awful, selfish and completely ungrateful. But it’s the truth. Have you ever been there?

There are some very specific things that I have been praying for, over and over, trying to patiently wait on God but let’s be honest, patience does not come easy, at least not for long. I began to dwell on these things, these requests, these heartfelt prayers and desires, things that I really believe are “good things” and I became aggravated, discouraged, maybe even a little bit angry. I forgot all that God has already done for me, all that He has given me and I let Satan convince me to focus on what I think I’m missing out on. Then I came across the verse above in my Bible reading and as I read those words, “satisfies your desires with good things”, I thought, “Well, God, why don’t you satisfy my desires? Why don’t you give me the good things I’m asking for?” It’s been years that I have been praying and I can look back and see that I have grown in my relationship with God. To be brutally honest here, I guess I looked back in pride… look how far I’ve come….surely I deserve for my prayers to be answered. But the Bible says “There is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:12) and “our righteous acts are like filthy rags”. (Isaiah 64:6) According to these verses and many more, I don’t deserve anything and I will never be able to earn what God has already done for me. So what are the “good things” that God will satisfy me with? To show me, God reminded me of the familiar beginning and end of Psalm 23.

“The LORD is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. Surely, Your Goodness and Love shall follow me all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:1,6

As I read these verses and gave serious thought to what it was saying, the LORD gave me clarity. He is completely capable of giving me what I ask for but when I read this, to my heart, He said, “Even if I give you these things, you will still be lacking.” You see, if God allows me to get a raise and make more money, eventually, I will think I need a little more, it will never be enough. If God restores the broken relationships within my family or sends me that godly husband that I so desperately desire, there will come a time when I will still be disappointed because we are human. The things of this world, even those things we consider to be good, are passing away and they will not satisfy, not for long anyway. We can only be fulfilled, we can only find true contentment in Jesus Christ. It is His Goodness and Love that will completely satisfy our desires. God bypasses all those worldly “good things” and He gives us the Best.. “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all-how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) God gives me His salvation, His love, His forgiveness. He showers me with grace upon grace and mercies that are new every morning. He says, “Be content, be satisfied because I have given you Myself…”In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

By the world’s standards, I may not have much but I have my God and I lack nothing.