Satisfied in God alone

Weaning my youngest was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do as a mother. He was one of those babies that wanted milk round the clock and hardly ate solid food. It reached a point where I couldn’t even cuddle him without him getting restless and wanting his way. 

Finally, when he was a little more than two years old, I knew I had to wean him — and he didn’t like it one bit. He cried and screamed and sulked and refused food — a saga that went on for three months. His tiny, confused mind could not understand why I, his mother, was refusing to provide for him in the way he wanted. He was so upset with me, he didn’t even want me to carry him. 

But when he did settle down, I could finally hug him without him being fidgety and actually get a hug back! It felt so good to be able to show him my love and enjoy him as my precious little son.

How deep the Father’s love

Many times, we find ourselves desiring things we believe we simply can’t manage without. We even try to convince God of the case. But at times, the answer we get may not be to our liking. Sometimes, it is a no; sometimes, He makes us wait. 

We may hurt; we may even get disheartened, thinking God doesn’t care for our needs. But the fact is He cares so deeply for us, He wants to wean us off our temporary wants and fill it with our deepest need: to know Him and experience the joy of His presence. 

My youngest is now a happy four-year-old who goes to kindergarten. On Mother’s Day, the teacher asked him a question, “Why do you love your mamma?” His reply stunned me. “I love my mamma because she loves me,” he said simply. It’s a memory I will always treasure in my heart because it brought me so much joy. 

Our Father in heaven also expects us to love Him and spend time with Him, not because of whether He gives or doesn’t give, but because of who He is to each of us. He is our Saviour who dotes over us like the apple of His eye. “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32. Will not such a Father take care of our lives much better than we ever will?

Christ is enough

David spent 15 years on the run. It was while hiding out in the wilderness that he penned these beautiful lines: “O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, beholding Your power and glory. Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food” (Psalm 63:1-3, 5). 

David understood that whether he became king or not, even in the dry and parched wilderness, it is in the presence of the Lord alone and in the knowledge of who He is that his soul could be satisfied — just as if he was feasting at a banquet in the palace. We may not always understand all of God’s plans for our lives, but God always desires that His children rest in the richness of His love, knowing that He is good and does all things for good. 

Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” All our days, regardless of what it may bring forth, may God satisfy our hearts with His love so that we may never want anything in life more than the joy of knowing that Christ is more than enough to meet our every need.

“I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.” Psalm 131:1-3