Cravings

“Would you like to buy a cheesecake?” The petite middle-schooler asked when I opened the front door. “It’s a fundraiser for our school choir.”

Cheesecake? That’s a no-brainer for me. I can easily dismiss offers to purchase candy or even cookies. But not cheesecake. I’ve never met a cheesecake that I didn’t adore.

I ordered the Oreo Cookie flavor. My husband and I split a piece once a week. In the meantime, the remaining pieces are chilling out in our freezer. And I’m trying to stave off any serious cravings.

Yes, sometimes I think I crave cheesecake … or new clothes, a day off, or a word of appreciation. But I know (in my head, but not always in my heart) that I actually crave communion with God; a communion with God fostered with purposeful directing of my thoughts to scripture throughout the day and night.

The other day I was meditation on Psalm 63:1, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” (KJV) This psalm was written by David when he was in the wilderness. But I wondered, how did David know that the need he was sensing was deep down a longing for God and not a longing for something temporal—the comforts of home, a victory in battle, the admiration of his people? Really, how did he know?

Clues are sprinkled throughout the rest of the chapter. The psalmist had experienced longings in the past and God had met those longing with Himself.

In verses 5-7, David describes his soul—a satisfied soul—that is, a soul totally filled up, even to excess: “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.” (ESV)

At some point, before the psalmist had personal experience with God satisfying his soul, he believed. By faith he called out to God to meet the deep, unmet longings of his heart that nothing else could satisfy.

Learn more about how to meditate and how to have a satisfied soul as the psalmist did. Read my new book, Soul Pursuit: The Busy Person's Guide to Biblical Meditation. The eBook format is free on Monday, November 14, on Amazon.