The Joy of Lament: The Soul's Quest for Satisfaction

 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied - Matthew 5:6

Someone wrote a song about not being able to be satisfied no matter how hard he tried. That seems to be the anthem of life sometimes doesn’t it? We fill ourselves with so much and we are still empty. We chase the rainbows of our dreams only to find there is neither a pot of gold nor a pudgy leprechaun waiting for us. We climb ladders that promise success only to find there’s no one up there and we’ve burned people, not bridges, to get here. Just like happiness, we all want a satisfying and fulfilling life and that’s exactly what Christ is promising us here in this statement.

Now, before all my Reformed Theology friends think I’ve lost my mind and gone all prosperity-preacher remember what Jesus is doing here. He has climbed this mountain and is giving the people the heart of The Law. The Law was given to show the way we were to live and flourish and worship God. The law was to point us to The Way and Jesus is The Way (John 14:6). Jesus is lifting our eyes to a higher place. He’s literally taking our face in His hands and lifting it until we are eye to eye with Him. From the very beginning of this sermon He is seeking to change our perspective from an earthly one to an eternal one. He has not shifted His gaze, nor has He broken His train of objective thought. He is still dealing with repentance and lament, and human flourishing by having peace with God.

In Matthew 11:28-29 and John 7:37 Jesus pleads again for those who are weary and burdened with weight to come to Him and find rest for their souls. He promises that if anyone is thirsty, they can come to Him and drink. All this echoes the cry of the Prophet Isaiah in his writings on the Messiah for all to come and eat and drink without money and without price. To come and eat and drink and be filled for all eternity (Isaiah 55:1-3).

Religion, in its impure form has a way of bogging us down, burning us out and leaving us thirstier and hungrier than when we started. This is what Jesus has come to take from us. He has come to remove from us the weight of works-based religion, hoping that our good deeds outweigh our bad ones or somehow thinking we get another shot at life in a different form. In Christ we can KNOW that we have peace with God and that ours is the kingdom of heaven. We don’t have to guess about it and that’s a true relief! We can be free from the power of sin AND the works of our hands! We don’t have to figure out how to save ourselves! Jesus has done that for us and in so doing provides for us an abundant life filled with satisfaction in Him.

The Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the Philippians, particularly in chapter 3 where he lays out the secret to satisfaction and contentment. In verse 7 Paul says that everything he counted as dear he now counts as loss.

...though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. - Phil. 3:4-6

This was the fruit of Paul's pursuit. He was a well-respected religious leader. We tend to make light of this but we need to feel the weight of what Paul is saying here, especially in an age where we're prone to make our pursuits all about us and make Jesus an add on.  

Paul goes on in this chapter, which I urge you to read and study, to speak of how he suffered the loss of it all because he found someone better. He found Christ to be all satisfying, all fulfilling and worthy of pursuit. He has let go of EVERYTHING that was his in the past to gain Christ! Paul's goal is Christ! His hope is Christ! His contentment is Christ! And this is what Christ is calling us to in Matthew 5:6. The soul will only be satisfied when it finds rest in the pursuit of knowing Christ.

I can recall God calling me out of a successful career in the Army and away from a budding career in television and radio and how devastating that was. I cried both times and there was temptation to return to both on many occasions but in those moments, God has a wonderful way of lifting my eyes. Now I can see what He was doing, and I get to write as a hobby and use my skills in TV and radio for my church. Both are far more fulfilling and less stressful than when I did them professionally. The disciplines and leadership skills I acquired in the military have helped in developing strong spiritual disciplines. Nothing is wasted and my life in Christ is more satisfying than I could have ever imagined and it's only getting better.

Beloved, we will never give up anything that Christ cannot completely fulfill by surpassing satisfaction.To the degree that we have attained let us walk in that degree, but may the Holy Spirit cause us to want more of Christ. May we hunger and thirst after righteousness and be filled with hunger.

In Christ, 

Storm Knight

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