Except through Jesus Christ.....no man, woman or child can ever be truly
satisfied. Every thrill will only seek a greater thrill.
B. B. McKinney wrote a song called “Satisfied With Jesus” in 1926 that
reveals the satisfaction that comes form our Lord.
SATISFIED WITH JESUS
I am satisfied with Jesus,
He has done so much for me:
He has suffered to redeem me,
He has died to set me free.
Chorus:
I am satisfied, I am satisfied,
I am satisfied with Jesus,
But the question comes to me,
As I think of Calvary,
Is my Master satisfied with me?
He is with me in my trials,
Best of friends of all is He;
I can always count on Jesus,
Can He always count on me? [Chorus]
I can hear the voice of Jesus,
Calling out so pleadingly,
"Go and win the lost and straying";
Is He satisfied with me? [Chorus]
When my work on earth is ended,
And I cross the mystic sea,
Oh, that I could hear Him saying,
"I am satisfied with thee." [Chorus]
Is it possible that a Christian could have dissatisfaction in their
life? Oh yes, it is very possible. But that sounds impossible you say.
It does, doesn’t it? However if a Christian is out of fellowship with
God, he or she will not be at rest. They will not have satisfaction.
So what does it mean for a Christian to be out of fellowship with God?
Let me explain it this way.
When we were children and disobeyed our parents, dissatisfaction set in.
It could have been from guilt, fear of being caught, dread of
punishment, shame or perhaps something else. Regardless, we had no
satisfaction because we were out of fellowship with our parents. In
other words, we were not at peace with ourselves. Our parents were still
our parents, and we were still their child, but let us say, the line of
communication was broken, and it could not be restored until the problem
was rectified. Once everything was out in the open and the problem was
resolved, satisfaction was restored.
This is why the Lord provided 1 John 1:9 for His children, which says,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Even Christians will try wrong paths to get to the place they need to be
in order to have a restored satisfaction.
For example, they buy some new clothes, but when the newness fades, so
does the thrill. They may buy a living room suite, but again, when the
newness fades, so does the thrill. It may be a new car, or a vacation,
or a ring, or a knife, or exercise equipment, or … Well, you know how it
is. We keep going for something to give us a sense of happiness, but we
can’t find happiness that lasts because it isn’t what we need. Happiness
comes only from a close relationship with Jesus Christ, and then
satisfaction is found, true satisfaction that lasts. Then we can sing
the song “Satisfied With Jesus” with joy, because peace has been
restored within our soul.
Those who are not true Christians of course will never be satisfied with
their lives because they do not know Jesus Christ. Until they come to
Him in faith and accept His gift of salvation, they will always be
reaching for something, but never satisfied.
I want to make another point concerning satisfaction. There are also
dark forces in this world that will never be satisfied with the havoc
brought upon mankind. It always hungers for more, continuing to pull man
on down to even darker areas of perversion. The principalities and
powers Paul spoke of (Ephesians 6:12) are very real. The evil heart of
man is also very real. When the two get together, satisfaction is never
found. In this dark world, only something more evil than the last action
will do, but then that too must be topped with something else even more
outlandish.
When movies were first produced they were rather tame. However, as time
passed, each had to show a little more skin or a little more blood. Each
had to top the last act in order to satisfy the evil heart of man, but
there’s a problem. The evil heart of man and the dark world of Satan are
never satisfied. They must be continually fed with more and more and
more. Now, anyone can obtain a movie or video depicting anything the
mind can conceive, absolutely anything.
Ronald Reagan said, “I don't believe in a government that protects us
from ourselves.” This is the excuse provided by our government when
regulating our lives, but regulations breed more regulations.
Eventually, freedom is gone. Government is never satisfied.
When two people are dating, a kiss may seem so innocent, but if not kept
in check, a simple kiss and human libido can result in a child out of
wedlock. One thing led to another. Satisfaction could not be attained in
the kiss, it had to have more, and it got more, more than bargained for.
How do you spoil a child? You give them everything they want, thinking
with each provision, they will be satisfied, but they never are. They
always want more, always.
Why do people steal? They are not satisfied with what they have. They
want what you have too.
Why do people get in debt over their head? They want to “keep up with
the Joneses.” They are never satisfied with what they have.
Why do cattle sometimes break a fence trying to get to the grass on the
other side of the fence? The grass looks greener and tastier over there.
They are not satisfied with their location.
It used to be safe to leave the television on, with your child in the
room, while you went to the kitchen. You had better be very careful
about that these days though, because even a commercial may provide
“entertainment” you don’t want your child to see.
There once was a day when it was disgraceful to have a child out of
wedlock, but today it is joyfully announced. There was a time when
homosexuality was a perversion, but today it is an alternate lifestyle.
Once upon a time men showed respect toward women because they witnessed
first hand the respect their dad showed their mother. Today that is
laughable in some circles, and some women reject it, because they have
no respect for themselves.
While growing up, I was never instructed to read anything in school that
was considered trash. Today, it has gone beyond trash. It’s unspeakable
what young children are required to read.
Are we getting the point? I could go on indefinitely, and so could you.
This world is not getting better, because evil can never be satisfied to
stay in one place. It must continue to grow and grow. It’s like a
cancer. It will never go away on its own. It will only increase in its
perverted activities.
I understand that some people actually believe that the Church is going
to eventually usher in a perfect world and then Jesus will return.
Others actually believe that we are now in the Millennium. Bless their
little hearts. I don’t know what these dear folks are sniffing, but they
need to wake up and smell the coffee.
Jesus made it abundantly clear that evil in the world would increase and
eventually get to the point that He would have to come and put a stop to
it, just as He did in Noah’s day and Lot’s day. Maybe He knew something
about being satisfied. Maybe He knew that evil can never be satisfied.
Maybe He knew that with each passing year evil would just get more and
more shocking, and society (as the frog in the slowly heated water)
would hardly notice.
One doesn’t have to go any further than Romans 1:18-32, or 2 Timothy
3:1-9 or 2 Peter chapters two and three or Jude to see a snapshot of our
world today. You would think that Paul, Peter and Jude were given a
birds-eye view of what we have become today. I could also mention
Revelation chapters two and three. John must have been looking down on
us too.
Folks are you satisfied with your life? If you don’t have Jesus in your
life, you may think you’re satisfied, but you’re not. I’ll prove it. You
think you’re satisfied now? Give it a little time and you will be
yearning for something else.
Time is running out. From what I see in the Scriptures, we have just
about reached God’s patience. Very soon, the Lord God is going to say,
“It’s time.”
“5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the
earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will
destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man,
and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it
repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:5-8)
Have you “found grace in the eyes of the LORD?” If so, you have found
true satisfaction and you will not be disappointed. If you have not,
don’t laugh it off as they did in Noah’s day. Those who laughed found no
sanctuary in the Ark. They drowned while scratching on the sides of the
Ark trying to get in. They could not get in though, because God shut the
door (Genesis 7:16).
What will it be? Can you say with B. B. McKinny, “I am satisfied with
thee?”