Day 10 – Satisfied!

2020 VISION | Day 10 | Satisfied!

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. 

He who comes to Me shall never hunger, 

and he who believes in Me shall never thirst”

(John 6:35, NKJV).

At the beginning of his Confessions, Augustine famously declares, “Nevertheless, to praise you is the desire of humanity, a little piece of your creation. You stir humanity to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (I.i.). His words resonate with our experience as followers of Christ, and yet, I wonder if there are few things more dangerous to finding our rest— finding “satisfaction”—in Christ than our growing familiarity of Him. We know so much of Him that we neglect to know Him at all. In the course of our lives with Him, Jesus wears many different hats: Christ the career counselor, Christ the problem-solver, Christ the eternal insurance policy, Christ the Sunday morning ritual, Christ the moral guide. These roles are wonderful and speak to Christ’s all-encompassing presence in our lives, but few of them necessitate intimacy. They are the gifts of Christ, accidental to Him, that demand little satisfaction in Him. Fasting, however, deprives us of the shallow soil of meaningless pleasures that we might root ourselves in the ground of divine joy beneath us. We fast that we might feast on the bread of life (John 6:35). God rescues us from the “lovely things” and re-ignites our joy in him. As Augustine testifies, “You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness … I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on  fire to attain the peace which is yours” (X.xxvii).

Prayer: Father, make Your mercy new to me every morning. Let my will die and Your desire for me be the only source I draw from. Use any gift I have for Your purposes alone. Let me discover everything about You that You would have me know and apply that knowledge to my work of building Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen!