The people ate and were satisfied.

Mark 8:8

It takes something to be satisfied in this life.  Paul wrote that he had learned the secret of being content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:12).  He knew how to be content.

The crowds followed Jesus in droves.  After He fed them with the miracle of the loaves, He stopped them and tried to redirect their thinking.  They followed Him more because their physical bodies were satisfied than they were by the spiritual  (John 6:26).

But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Psalm 81:16

God’s desire is to fill us with real food.  This verse in Psalms does not ultimately indicate the feeding with natural food, but with that of the Spirit.  He desires that we be satisfied with true bread from heaven, true revelation and insight, and right understanding.  He desires that we be satisfied with His presence, His sweetness, and His commands (Psalm 19:9-10).

Crowds come and go, but Jesus’ eyes were on the Kingdom.  Praise and criticism come and go, but Jesus’ eyes were on the Kingdom.

The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

Luke 11:34 KJV

It wasn’t that He wanted crowds or didn’t want them, His eyes were on the Kingdom.  Whether He preached to a few or thousands, it wasn’t what was on His focus, it was merely pleasing the Father.

Of course Jesus came to heal, because He came to destroy the works of the devil, but He came to preach.  One day, Jesus healed the masses, another day, He taught.  Another day He multiplied bread, another day He tried to get away to rest.  We could point and criticize and tell Him what we thought He should do, but in the end, only the eyes focused on the Kingdom succeed in doing the Father’s will.

And, in that, we are satisfied, in all that we do.

Some ministers have said that the more they are used of God, they less they are able to enjoy it.  Whether this is true of every minister or is correct in every one of these cases, why not?  It is enough to be like Him.  It is enough to love Him, and Him alone.  If we are fascinated by ministering more than by Heaven and it’s King, why should we be considered pure?  But, if it is truly enough simply to be with Him, to be adored by Him, to be enamored by Him, and if it is enough simply to obey and to follow after Him, and we are satisfied in that, why does the rest matter?  He is enough.

And, if there is some delight in the process that neither interferes nor distracts for some, what difference is there in that?  If He chooses to offer comfort, why not enjoy and drink them, yet know that it is from His hand?

The point, the focus, the aim, whether we are inebriated on the wine of His Presence or not is simply priority.  Do we want a feeling and a sense of power or some other such thing?  Or do we want Him?  Do we want His Presence, and to abide with Him.  If we lost every sense of ministering, but lived with the conscious awareness of Him, and that He was pleased with us, wouldn’t that be enough?

What is greater than rushing out to heal every sickness and every disease with the latest and greatest anointing?  Sitting at His feet to listen to His Words (Luke 10:42).

This is the greatest thing, and in it, the simple, believing, and trusting heart is satisfied.  And, oh, yes, He does send us out.  He does place things upon our heart.  But, can we come, day after day, again and again, to His feet, and Hear His sweet words, and be satisfied in that anointing?  In that light?  In that truth?

Ministry comes, and does not let go of you.  The yoke of the Lord is light and easy, but is a yoke, and, as Paul wrote, “Woe unto me if I do not preach” (1 Corinthians 9:16).  He knew the requirement of the call upon His life, and he knew the consequences of not heeding it would mostly likely be death or worse.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

The Kingdom of Heaven is enough to satisfy.  Every longing of the human heart is fully met in Jesus Christ, and His gracious gifts.

David Brainerd was a missionary to the native tribes in the Northeast of the United States.  He lived in the harshest of conditions while suffering from tuberculosis, and eventually died from it at the age of 29.  He preached to natives that practiced their pagan rituals, yet he found worse was the conversation of supposed other believers who talked about ungodly pursuits.  But, He found, after a while of praying and seeking, that so long as it didn’t distract the main thing, that certain simple recreations, so long as they helped to focus and collect the soul for more preaching, were sometimes beneficial in his preaching and praying.

To be wholly satisfied in His affections, to be so wholly consumed by His desires, His passions, and His motivations is to have a single eye, a single focus.  This world is not enough to satisfy, yet in the abiding of His glory, there is enough.  While the kingdoms of this world thrive on constantly looking for more ways to satisfy, it is merely the same seducing voice that offered to Eve the apple.  She saw it was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirous to gain wisdom.  These are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).  Yet, it is only in the Christ that we can step Beyond these, into the realm of the Spirit, and know God (1 Corinthians 15:34).

To be so singularly focused upon any other thing, something that is not really light, would be a great and terrible darkness.  Yet, in the Lord, is the most brilliant light.  With Him is the fountain of life, in His light we see light.  Psalm 36:9.  As we see Him for who He is, in that, we see more.  What we thought was light and truth and revelation before is drowned out by an even greater light.  Instead of growing accustomed to the light, we instead see more light, and are ever more filled with light.

Ever satisfied, ever growing, so that nothing else could every fill us.

It may be true that there is a God shaped hole inside of us.  But, mine is growing bigger.

Psalm 84

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts!
My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.   Selah.

How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion!
Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob!  Selah.

Behold our shield, O God, and look upon the face of Your anointed.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!