Modern Psalms: Satisfy Me Every Morning
“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us– yes, establish the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:14-17, NIV)
Hey Pops,
Teach me to be satisfied every morning. I’ve grown too used to putting off satisfaction for another day when some lofty goal is reached. I’ll be satisfied when I’m skinnier. I’ll be satisfied when I have x amount of money in my savings. I’ll be satisfied when my house is clean.
There are a million reasons to put off satisfaction and happiness. It never takes long to sink into a rhythm of dissatisfaction with life. Why? Because I’ve grown used to my spiritual and emotional joy being contingent on temporal, and quite frankly, fleeting things.
Meanwhile, you have been a hiding place. You have been a dwelling place. You have been a safe space for sanctuary and peace without a laundry list of qualifications. You are the same as you have been for generations. You were here before the mountains and the oceans and this whole world. You are joy personified and you are steadfast content.
When you see my silly struggles, you still draw me near. You still wait for me to turn my attention to you. You are still good and gentle and kind towards me. You will take me as I am and love me despite my reasons you shouldn’t. To you, a thousand years are like a day. My whole life laid out before you is just a moment. So why do I choose to waste my days on things that don’t matter? Why do I choose to delay the satisfaction and joy you have for me by placing my own restrictions on when it can be enjoyed?
One day, sooner than I can imagine, these things that I am so convinced matter will all turn back to dust, just like every generation before me that has walked with you. One day, I will sit at your feet and these things I cling to on earth won’t even be a thought anymore. I will set them aside for the eternal joys of being at the feet of Jesus and looking upon You.
So help me to make my life count for more than trivial, temporal goals. Help me to live in a posture that puts spiritual joy and satisfaction at the forefront, letting all other contingencies fall to the side. Even in my darkest suffering, would you teach me to be satisfied by You and to be content with the lovingkindness you have shown me all my life. Help me to live a life that stands as a testimony to your goodness. Not just for me and my personal happiness, but for those living in proximity to me.
Help me to be a satisfied wife that brings her husband joy by making our home a sanctuary in which your Spirit rests. Help me to be a partner that serves as a safe place for him to be content, even if some of our questions are left undone.
Help me to be a satisfied mother that teaches her children to also be satisfied by You. Make me a model of hiding myself in you so that my children can be familiar with the peace of walking by faith and in tandem with Your Word. I don’t want to set an example for them in which they think they can’t be glad in your presence right now. Give me the wisdom to cultivate a home that is overflowing with your love in which we can be at peace in this moment now, not waiting for some future date when we’re older to enjoy You.
Help me to be a satisfied friend; one who can cheer others on in their successes without feeling insecure in my own happiness. Help me to be a woman who is content with the season and station of life I am currently in. Help me to dream for my future without ignoring or forfeiting the fulfillment of this moment.
Satisfy me in the morning, Lord, before anything even happens and before the day is even begun. Let that set the tone for my mindset throughout the day. Instead of beating myself up over goals unmet or chores incompleted, help me to be satisfied in the fact that they can always be done tomorrow. Help me to be a woman who prioritizes being with you, being with family, and being happy with who I am while I’m on my way to the destination.
Make me content to pursue You and teach my heart to value Your opinion of me higher than the harsh one I can have of myself. Lord, I so want to be able to enjoy you and be at peace with where you have me now. I don’t want to wait to be skinnier, or cleaner, or more put together, or more financially stable, or any other thing I might think I need to be.
Show me how you see me and how you value me, and speak to my heart. Heal it from all the negativity I have shown myself. Undo all the work I’ve done that makes me believe my joy should be put on hold for another day when I’m more put together.
Because when I let my silly little goals stand in the way, I sacrifice the joy of knowing You better. And you are so glorious. You are so good. You are so worthy of every praise I have to give in the here and now. You are so deserving of my gladness and rejoicing. Thank you that I don’t have to wait for a mountaintop to serve you and praise You. Thank you that I don’t have to wait for a specific date or time for you to just want to be with me and to walk with me.
You are the real joy-giver, and I want to be satisfied by You every morning; I want you to be the first thought on my mind and to be present in the delight of knowing you are my God.
Talk soon,
Cortney
