18 May

The spiritual emptiness that Bernhard Langer is describing is common to all humanity. One young woman said to me that she felt there was ‘a chunk missing in her soul’. 

You are not simply body and mind. You are a soul created for relationship with God. How then do you satisfy your soul?

Spiritual ‘food’ is just as real as physical food and it satisfies us in a way that cannot be satisfied by anything physical.

David was in the desert. He knew what physical thirst and physical hunger were like. But he also knew and experienced spiritual thirst: ‘My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water’ (v.1). And he knew what it was like for his spiritual hunger to be satisfied: ‘My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods’ (v.5a).

His spiritual hunger and thirst are satisfied as he worships God: ‘So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory’ (v.2, MSG).

He lifts his hands as an expression of adoration, reverence and surrender: ‘Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands’ (vv.3–4). Lifting up hands is the oldest gesture of prayer. As Pope Emeritus Benedict writes, ‘This gesture is the radical form of worship... To open oneself to God, to surrender oneself completely to him.’

What do you do when you can’t sleep or you have wakeful moments in the night? David says that he worships and praises God, ‘I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches’ (v.6, AMP).

As he pours out his heart in worship day and night to God, David discovers strength and support. He writes, ‘Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me’ (vv.7–8).

Jesus communicated with his disciples and he continues to communicate with us. He says, ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me’ (v.27). We see here the marks of a true Christian:

• Believing in Jesus
  There is a contrast in this passage between those who ‘believed in Jesus’ (v.42) and those who ‘do not believe’ (vv.25–26). Belief in Jesus means believing in him when he says, ‘I am God’s Son’ (v.36) and putting your trust in him.
• Knowing Jesus
  Jesus says, ‘my sheep listen to my voice. I know them…’ (v.27). To be a Christian is to recognise and follow the voice of Jesus. This is what defines a Christian – not so much knowledge about Jesus, but actually knowing him. This is then followed up by the wonderful declaration that Jesus also knows us.
• Following Jesus
  Jesus says, ‘they follow me’ (v.27). It affects your life. As Jesus said elsewhere, ‘By their fruit you will recognise them’ (Matthew 7:16,20). James wrote, ‘Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead’ (James 2:17). The primary evidence of faith is love. Those who follow Jesus will follow his example of love.

There may be many struggles and temptations along the way, but ultimately the hand of Jesus and the hand of the Father are engaged together in protecting you. A Christian may lose their job, their money, their family, their liberty and even their life, but they can never lose eternal life.

Hannah’s prayer after Samuel’s birth is a vivid demonstration of the soul satisfaction that she experiences through her relationship with God. She prays and thanks God that ‘those who were hungry hunger no more’ (v.5).

The amazing thing in Hannah’s prayer is that the supreme source of her joy is not her child, but in the Lord. She says, ‘My heart rejoices in the Lord’ (v.1). He is the source of soul satisfaction:

‘I’m walking on air... God brings life... he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, restoring dignity and respect to their lives’ (vv.1,6,8, MSG).