Soul Satisfaction

Soul Satisfaction

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, “Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.”

John 7:38

I remember when I first became a Christian. When I read God’s Word and prayed, I felt full to the brim. I didn’t understand why I felt so refreshed, but I knew I didn’t want to stop feeling that way. More than twenty years later I still know where I need to go to find soul satisfaction and refreshment. For some people, getting there is a journey all its own.

Quilts are the reason that Sue Bender, a middle-aged artist and therapist with two graduate degrees, ended up doing dishes with the Amish. Having stumbled upon some Amish quilts in a Long Island clothing store, Bender was so taken by their colors and design that she resolved to meet the people who made them, hoping to find something to fill the “starved place” in her soul. In Plain and Simple: A Woman’s Journey to the Amish, Bender recounts her life-changing experiences in Iowa and Ohio, where she lived first with the Yoders and then with the Beilers. Although never tempted to become Amish herself, Bender insists at the end of her journey that her time with the Amish had transformed her in profound ways. “Through them I am learning not to rush through life in order to get the goodies,” she writes. “Their way of life delivers the goods, and that is quite different.”

Do you have a starved place in your soul? Like Sue Bender, I am refreshed when I’m around loving, godly people and when I take time to enjoy my day rather than rush through it. Yet even that will bring only limited satisfaction for a limited amount of time. Only Jesus can truly, deeply satisfy: “The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength,” reads Isaiah 58:11. “You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”

Is your soul feeling thirsty? Open God’s Word. Ask God to fill you as you read. And be prepared to be filled up and soul satisfied!

Dear heavenly Father, You are amazing. Thank You for Your Living Water that will never leave me dry.