Satisfied

This spring, as I've been driving around to different place to attend my children's school activities, I've seen a lot of scenes like this one:  Cattle laying down in lush, green pastures.  It's interesting to see this because last year, with the drought, you didn't see cattle lying down too often because they were constantly trying to find food.  The food was sparse and with four stomachs to fill, the cattle were having a difficult time!  

This year it seems the cattle are satisfied.  They can rest and relax instead of constantly eating and eating and chewing and chewing.  (On a side note: Some of us humans constantly eat and eat and chew and chew, but we only have one stomach.  Just an observation. I'm not pointing any fingers at you or me!) 

There's a really pretty song out right now that I've heard several times by Jewel called, "Satisfied".  The lyrics are really good and have to do with telling people that you love them and the feeling you get in your heart/mind knowing that you've done all you needed to do.  The song's chorus ends with this phrase, "That feeling inside - that's called satisfied".

The definition of satisfied is content or pleased.  It's a feeling inside, just as the song lyrics suggest.  The cattle are satisfied because their tummies are full.  Their basic needs are met:  food and water.  They need nothing else at this time.

We humans have a harder time becoming satisfied.  We always want more.  More money.  More time.  More opportunities.  More everything, it seems.  But what we think will make us satisfied, may not make us so, at all.  In fact, the more we get sometimes, the more we want or think we need.  Another song, from the popular Lorax movie that is out now, shows a side of wanting more that is quite the opposite of being satisfied:

Greed...ya see, it's like a little pet, alright?And the more and more and more that you go and feed it,The more hungry it'll get!But...you know, you really can't blame greedNo, that's stupid. (Note from me:  I don't like it having the word "stupid" in there, but it still makes a good point.)You see, it's gotta worm inside.  Oh yeah, that's right.It's one that always needs to feed,And it is never satisfied.You get it?But the more you try to find it,The more it likes to hide.Now listen--that is NASTY little worm.And I like to call it "pride.
Many people search all of their lives for "more", yet never feel like they are satisfied.  Sadly even Christians sometimes continue to fill their desire to be satisfied with worldly things or other people.  There's an empty feeling deep inside us that can't truly be filled with anything from here on this earth.  Only being satisfied spiritually, by putting our faith, hope, and trust in God and by making a decision to follow Jesus no matter what can truly fill this desire.  We are then filled with His Spirit, filled to the measure of all fullness (see below).  Only then are we truly SATISFIED.
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.Philippians 1:9-11