Eating to Satisfaction

What satisfies you? 

When was the last time you paused to reflect and notice if you are satisfied or not? 

If you’re like me, it’s been a while. 

But I’m doing it now. 

Satisfied is a word that reminds me of the children’s story about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. She goes about the bears’ home proclaiming something to be too much of this or not enough of that until she finds the one that is “just right”. That seems to be a good definition of satisfied - just right. 

I love the verse in Matthew 14:20a which says, “And they all ate and were satisfied.” 

Not too much or too little, but just right! 

This is about one of the miraculous times that Jesus fed thousands of people when he only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish at his disposal. 

He made sure that they had enough to satisfy their hunger. 

They didn’t lack and they didn’t dip into gluttony. And what about Jesus? Did he eat too? The Bible doesn’t give us that information. It only says that he took the food, looked up to heaven and said a blessing (which by the way a Biblical theme of blessing indicates multiplication…but that’s a blog for another day). “Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” 

In doing this perhaps was actually how Jesus gained his own satisfaction and comfort. 

You see, this miracle is on the heels of Jesus dealing with his own broken heart. He had just been informed that his cousin, friend, and ministry way maker, John, had been killed. 

In verse 13 we are told that upon hearing this sad news, Jesus withdraws. He wants to get alone. To mourn or to cry out to the Father maybe? But the crowd followed him. Yet even in his desire to be alone, when he sees them he has compassion on them! And in his brokenness he brings them to Himself. In his hurt, he heals. Then after a long day of emptying Himself for the multitude, He fills them to satisfaction. Don't miss that. 

He is the one that does the filling. 

He is the one that brings satisfaction.

And based on John 4, I wonder if in His giving, he Himself was filled. The passage in John 4 is about the time Jesus ministered the gospel to the Samaritan woman at the well. Again we find him in a state of weariness. In his physical exhaustion, he sits at the well and sends his disciples ahead into the town, while he waits for his divine encounter with the Samaritan women. After his encounter with her, she runs off to tell the townspeople about Him while his disciples return and try to offer him food, but he tells them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” 

Do you see that He desires to meet all of your needs? He only needs a moment with you. Because He loves you, giving you what you need fills him up and brings Him satisfaction!

And what about me and you? What brings us satisfaction? And is being satisfied a feeling or a choice? 

Paul seems to indicate that it’s a choice that comes from a posture of the heart that can be learned! He says, “...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content (or satisfied!) in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” -Philippian 4:11-13

In life we will have trials. But we can also go to the One who wants to fill us and bring satisfaction. In Him we find strength to accomplish all that He gives us to do, including creating a thankful heart bent towards satisfaction. 

And what about your Trim Healthy Mama journey? 

I believe that our ability to be satisfied in Christ bleeds over into every aspect of our life, including our eating. So often we find ourselves eating out of pain, boredom, depression, pressure, stress, etc. 

But what if we could find our full and complete satisfaction in Christ alone? 

Could we then approach a plate of food as a physical source of nourishment and enjoyment rather than a source of ALL nourishment, enjoyment, and comfort? 

There are real physical factors at play here as well as spiritual/emotional ones. But I think the real place to start satisfying our bellies is actually first found in finding satisfaction in Christ. 

How can you move in that direction? 

Here are some steps to ponder on and begin incorporating into your daily life.