Daily Affirmations - Day 1- My Soul is Satisfied: In the Darkest Hour

This week's Theme: My soul is satisfied

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Day 1: In the darkest hour

Isaiah 58:11:

“And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not”  (King James Version).

II. INWARD SATISFACTION.

“And satisfy thy soul in drought.” It is a blessed thing to have the soul satisfied, for the soul is of great capacity... The soul is like the grave, it is never satisfied; it is like the leech which ever crieth, “Give, give!” (Proverbs 30:15). Lay your money-bags to your heart, and see if they will satisfy you; but your poor soul will say, “How can I be satisfied with this dull earth? What is there here to feed the soul with?”

There is nothing for a soul to feed upon in all the pomp of kings and pride of men: these are no food for the soul! As well feed eagles upon clods, as hope to feed immortal souls upon anything that is earth-born. The soul wants more than all this, but the Christian has got what his soul wants.

He has, in the first place, a removal of all that which marred his peace, blighted his prospects, and made his soul empty and hungry. His sin is pardoned; he is reconciled to God; he is at peace with the Most High. The soul is never satisfied till it can place its head in the bosom of the Great Father of Spirits, and this the Christian can do.

He is satisfied with God’s dispensations. He believes that the present will work for his good and the future too, even as the past has done.

He is satisfied with God’s love. It is a rich feast to him to know that God loves him. It is an infinite joy to the Christian to believe that he is one with Christ, that he is accepted in and through Jesus, that he is a member of His body, and is united to Him, part of His flesh and of His bones.

It is a satisfaction to the Christian to know that the Holy Spirit dwells in him, and that his body is a temple for the indwelling of Deity. He is satisfied with promises that can never be broken, with covenants that can never be violated, with oaths that stand fast like mountains, and with the words of God which are great as the fathomless sea. He is satisfied with his God.

The... text says that he shall be satisfied in times of drought. Louth, I believe, translates the word, “severest droughts.” The word seems to apply to places constantly subject to want of moisture, as well as seasons exceptionally dry; it really reads thus: “In the worst times of distress the Christian is still satisfied.”

You ask, “What about his money?” Well, he is rich in faith, and if all his property were gone he would still say, “I have not lost my God!”

“But what about his family?” Well, he loves them, and if they were taken away he would weep as [others] weep — no...not as other men would weep — I may correct myself — for he would say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” He would still feel that he had not lost his Elder Brother, that he had not lost his heavenly Father, and that he was not an orphan in the world.

“Well, but how about his health?” Well, he prizes that, but if pains of body distress him, and he should be stretched upon a sick bed, he has a little secret... which enables him... to sing God’s praises more sweetly sometimes in a cage of ill health than he did when he was in the open field of vigour; for many of God’s birds sing best in cages, fly best when their wings are broken, get nearest to heaven when they are rolled right down to the earth, and discern most of God, and see most of Him when they have lost the tokens of Hs love.

We can see many things in the dark which we cannot see in the light... that is to say, we can see all those starry worlds, those unnumbered orbs floating in distant space — we can see them when the light is gone, but we cannot see them by day. So, when outward lights are taken away, the Christian often perceiveth more instead of less, through the inward light and the light of heaven which God is pleased to give him.

Is it not a blessed thing, dear friends, to have a heavenly constitution, a satisfaction which does not depend upon outward circumstances?... To be satisfied in days of drought, this is the Christian’s privilege, for he can say, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines...yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

When the farmer walks out amongst his cattle, and sees them all in good health... it is very easy for him to say, “Bless the Lord!” but when the cattle-plague comes and empties all his stalls... and there has been no compensation for them — how now, farmer? Can you now praise God, [and say "my soul is satisfied"] in times of drought?

And you, friend, when you are in good full work, and wages are high, and the house is well-furnished, and the cupboard is full, it is very easy then for you to kneel down at family-prayer and thank God for his kindness; but how about it when the husband is sick, when the funds have got very low, and when the little children look at their father wondering where the next meal will come from — to be satisfied even then that it is all right!

Oh this is a grand thing! This is just the mark of difference between the Christian and the worldling. The worldling blesses God while He gives him plenty, but the Christian blesses Him when He smites him: he believes Him to be too wise to err and too good to be unkind; he trusts Him where he cannot trace Him, looks up to Him in the darkest hour, and believes that all is well.

O Christian, if your heart is right, you will understand this spiritual satisfaction, and your soul will be satisfied in times of drought.