When Only One Thing Will Do
Psalm 63:1
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
When a craving can’t quite be satisfied, an itch can’t be scratched, and a hankering that can’t be hanked, our satisfaction becomes noticeably limited.
When I was pregnant with my first kid, I ate at a Boston Market (they were everywhere in the late 90's). The baby found the mashed potatoes quite agreeable. Well, there wasn’t a Boston Market by our house, and I literally lived every single day waiting for the opportunity to drive about an hour to the nearest one in San Diego. I probably didn’t pay too much attention at work that week, and I just wanted night to hurry and come each afternoon so I could get another day closer to the weekend and free time to get me to some more mashed potatoes.
Ahhhh, the only thing that satisfied. Everything else I tried to eat during that week just was not satisfying and did not do - only mashed potatoes from Boston Market an hour away (until the baby decided to crave something else and I couldn’t even look at those mashed potatoes anymore.) Crazy baby. But I still remember those days when literally only ONE thing would do.
There are hankerings in my heart that truly only are satisfied with One thing. Society tries to tell us differently. A new husband, a new job, a new location, a new pair of shoes... But these things do not do what we truly want them to do in our lives. I’m better off sticking with the old husband, the current job, the present location, and the out of date shoes and paying attention to the real Source that really meets my really real needs.
Jesus. He said that he is the only One who can give me a rich and satisfying life (John 10:10). Trying to get a rich and satisfying life from a person, career, city, or foot apparel will not scratch the itch in my heart to have peace, forgiveness, love, comfort, joy, and belonging.
In this parched and weary land where there is no water... There isn’t what I need here. But see what David goes on to say in verse 3: Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! Turning to God for all my needs is exactly what I need, and it’s better than anything life on earth has to offer including really super cute new pair of shoes!
Dear God,
Thank you that you provide exactly what I need while I still live in a world that only offers distractions. Thank you for making you and all that comes with YOU available to me now. I also want to just thank you and praise you that one day all my “itches” will be completely “scratched.” You promise to right every wrong (Psalm 103:6) and wipe every tear (Revelation 21:4). That sounds very satisfying and wonderful. I love you so much and I thank you and praise you for your presence in my life. And I pray in Jesus’ name, amen.