Satisfied In Christ

Not only can God supply our every need, but he can do so in a way that leaves us satisfied. Luke 9 gives an account of Jesus feeding a large crowd. Luke 9:17 is a short sentence filled with wonder: all of the people who had gathered there that day ate the food Jesus had provided and “were satisfied.” The Greek word for satisfied is chortazō, and it is rather funny. It is typically used to refer to animals eating hay—but not just eating it, gorging themselves on it (Strong’s Greek Lexicon, s.v. “G5526, chortazō,” https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G5526&t=KJV). You get the image of a fat, happy cow chewing its cud. The fact of the matter is that when we turn to God, he supplies our every need, but he also satisfies the yearning of our heart. As Augustine of Hippo once wrote in his Confessions, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee” (quoted in Justin Taylor, “An Analysis of One of the Greatest Sentences Ever Written,” The Gospel Coalition, March 9, 2017, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/an-analysis-of-one-of-thegreatest-sentences-ever-written/). Jesus shows us in this meal that he can provide for our need, and in doing so, he completely satisfies the yearning of our heart