My mom did not have a singing voice but I remember her singing a lot. Her songs ranged from Sunday school songs and hymns to little ditties she’d learned in childhood to the (now classic) rock music she grew up with.

One I remember quite well is when we complained, she used to bellow out, “You can’t always get what you want. You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometime you’ll find, You get what you need.”

Sometimes, she’d change it up with another Rolling Stones classic: “I can’t get no satisfaction. I can’t get no satisfaction. ‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try.”

I’m sure this was a combination of her trying to lighten the situation and keep her sanity at the same time. Kids and complaining can get overwhelming at times.

Now, I don’t get my theology from the Rolling Stones, but these songs capture a big part of the human condition: always wanting more, never fully satisfied, and focusing on what we don’t have rather than being grateful for what we do.

I was reflecting on this today as I thought about how many times I complain, clamor for more, and blatantly disregard in dissatisfaction the things that should make me the most content.

Jesus says He came to give us life and not just that but abundant life (John 10:10). He means for His people to be fully satisfied in Him.

What is satisfaction?

To summarize all of the definitions of satisfaction I’ve read: it is having a need or desire filled. It’s synonyms included contentment and gratification.

Satisfaction is relative. If we are hungry or thirsty, cold or hot, sick or tired, etc., then it’s just having your basic needs met. If you are use to comfort and luxury, satisfaction might be having things, surroundings, and people being up to your higher standards.

However, all of this is temporal. Once you eat or drink your fill, once you’ve had a pleasure, or got that experience, then you are back to having unmet desires you are wanting met.

So, the question becomes, is there a satisfaction that never ends? That meets every need and gives us just what exactly we need?

How Can We Be Satisfied in Christ Alone

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

Jesus promises that if we have a deep desire for Him and to follow His commands, we will be filled. Not just once, but for all eternity. We will never go hungry and we will never go thirsty.

How can we be satisfied in Christ alone?

First, we have to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. This means confessing and forsaking our sins and follow His ways.

Next, we have to desire righteousness. We have to daily fight sin, confess, and replace lies and old ways with the truth of what God’s word says.

Finally, we must keep godly perspective by practicing gratitude, choosing to be kingdom minded, and walking by faith. Not all things work out like we want, and no, we don’t always get what we want.

God always gives us exactly what we need and if we trust Him, we learn that even hardships grow and strengthen us. Plus, God always gives to us more and better than we deserve if we chose to focus on the blessings over burdens.

Bible Verses on Satisfaction

These scriptures focus on the Lord’s supply for His children so we can understand that apart from Him, there is no true contentment or peaceful rest.

• A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 NIV

• The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10 NIV

• Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9 NIV

• The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11 NIV

• The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23 NIV

• I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13 NIV

• Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV

Prayer to Find Satisfaction in God

In Psalm 63, David is suffering from a lack of water, protection, and comfort. He considers his neediness and allows it to refocus him on his more desperate need: the help and presence of God.

Using this Psalm, here is a prayer guide to help us focus our own hearts on our need to find contentment and rest in our God.

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hand.

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me. –Psalm 63:1-8 NIV

 Praise:

God, you are my God. I long for you in a land where there are so many things that fight for my attention, but none of them satisfy. You alone are where I find true contentment and rest. I praise you for being my peace and help. I thank you for upholding me and giving me all I need to endure.

Repent:

Lord, forgive me when I fail to praise you. Forgive me for when I seek things that offer temporary fulfillment but are empty. Show me your ways to everlasting satisfaction and keep me seeking the true and perfect gifts you provide.

Request:

Heavenly Father, help me to realize that your love is better than life. Open my eyes to see the true riches and satisfying hope that is found when I spend time in Your presence. Give me perspective even in trials to like David see my need for You, but also for what I have to be grateful for always.

Yield:

Jesus, I surrendered my life to you at salvation. I know that you are the Living Water and the Bread of Life. I recommit my life in a way that shows others that true and lasting satisfaction is in Christ alone that I may shine your light in the darkness.