“Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”
Psalm 107:4-9
“And it shall be said,
‘Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people’s way.’”
Isaiah 57:14
“But the LORD’s portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
He found him in a desert land,
and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.”
Deuteronomy 32:9-10
Oh, how the Lord loves us. “Thus says the LORD: ‘The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love’” (Jeremiah 31:2-3a).
On our own, we wander. We hunger and thirst and despair. And my God clears the way. We reach “a city to dwell in.” We are led safely to a place where we belong. A place where we are cared for and valued. A place where we are seen, where we know love in its purest form and joy that is deep and abundant.
God makes Himself known to us, and He does so by seeking us out and finding us in our wilderness. He surrounds us with steadfast, everlasting love. He fills all our empty spaces and makes us whole in Christ. He heals our brokenness, breaks the chains of our sin, and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
We are satisfied by the God who fills all in all, because He is our all-satisfying portion. He fills us with good things. He is a good Father who delights in us, and He will withhold no truly good thing from those who trust Him enough to surrender their lives to His will.
There is no more satisfying place to be than encircled in the powerful, loving arms of the God who gave His Son to save you. That love will not fail, and that power will never be overcome.
“I, I am the LORD,
and besides me there is no savior.”
Isaiah 43:11
“Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other”
Isaiah 45:22
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17
In Pleasant Places 