The Deepest Need of the Human Soul

Hotdog eating contest —a metaphor for our times.

We gorge ourselves on spiritual junk food.

We pretend trivial and useless things really matter.

We celebrate meaningless "accomplishments"—and we honor those who do them.

We fill up on stuff that can make us sick—worldly things that can rob us of spiritual health.

The Bible says, "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?" (Isaiah 55:2). But isn't that exactly what we do? Our society chases after all kinds of things in an endless quest to fill up the emptiness inside, but our society chases after things that will not satisfy our spiritual hunger or thirst. Our society gorges itself, but never satisfies the deepest need of the human soul.

The current issue of Newsweek, for instance, tells how some young moms are trying to give their daughters the beautiful life—"obsessive mothers who train their tots to strut and swagger, flip their hair and pout their lips." The article goes on: "[This] is the new normal: a generation that primps and dyes and pulls and shapes, younger and with more vigor." Market research reports "43 percent of 6- to 9-year-olds are already using lipstick or lip gloss; 38 percent use hairstyling products; and 12 percent use other cosmetics... Eight- to 12-year-olds in this country already spend more than $40 million a month on beauty products...¹ [Despite the economy] cosmetic sales have increased between 1 and 46 percent in the last year, depending on the product...²" They estimate by common beauty trends that a 10-year-old will spend nearly $300,000 on just her face and hair by the time she's 50. [Newsweek (4/6/09, pp 42-43) ¹NPD Group; ²Nielsen Co]

I think this could be classified as spending money on what is not bread and what does not satisfy!

Blaise Pascal, French philosopher and mathematician is credited with writing: "There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus."

Chase after beauty or fame. Strive for athletic prowess. Climb to the top of the corporate ladder. You can stuff yourself with all these things and still be spiritually malnourished. Ask Bernie Madoff how he feels today sitting in his new place. Your life can be full but still spiritually famished. How can this be? It happens whenever you eat spiritual junk food. You're trying to fill up emptiness that can only be filled by a relationship with the Creator!

I've heard it said that there was a food shortage in Germany after World War I, so they started adding sawdust to their food. At first they added a very small percent. But they gradually increased the amount until the people began to become malnourished and sick. All the time, though, they had full bellies. They did not feel hungry. It's called full-belly starvation. You eat; you feel full; but you're starving for nutrition. [http://www.personalliberty.com/bob-livingston/health-wisdom-reach-for-nutrition/]

So what is the deepest need of the human soul? We're not talking about the deepest wants, because we often want the wrong things. We want chocolate, candy, chips, soda pop, junk food—but we don't need them.

The Bible says that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men" (Eccl 3:11).

In other words, God did not intend that we would find our satisfaction and purpose in this world or in this short life. God has a much bigger plan in mind for us! He has set eternity in our hearts. He wants us to know him—now and throughout all eternity—so we can find our purpose in him.

For the last three weeks, we've been looking at how God meets our deepest needs. (If you missed any of the messages, or if you'd like to hear them again, you can hear them or download them from our church website.) We've been looking at some of the stories of the OT that teach us timeless truths of hope and inspiration.

So today, I want to look at another historical event in the OT and see what we can learn from it. It's a story about the Israelites—God's people—from the time they were in the wilderness.

Read Psalm 106:13-15 and Numbers 11:4-6,18-20,31-34

Notice that their prayers were answered! They were persistent in prayer. They pressed in to claim God's resources. I think this is remarkable.

God gave them what they asked for (Ps 106:15)—he gave them their request (NASB). But they also received unintended consequences that came along with the answer to their prayers—because they were praying in the wrong way, from the wrong motives, for the wrong things.

Their prayers were answered, but they also had to deal with a "wasting" disease. Their bellies were full, but they still wasted away.

KJV: "he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (Psalms 106:15).

AMP: And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death.

The CONSEQUENCES of craving the wrong things are that GOD MAY GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASK FOR! THEN you'll have to pay the price that comes with it.

What happened to them should be a warning to us: don't do what they did! There are several things God's people did wrong in this event.

1.      (Ps 106:13) They forgot what God had done. They developed SPIRITUAL AMNESIA. They couldn't remember (or wouldn't remember) all that God had done for them (Ps 106:8-12 - saved out of slavery in Egypt, brought plagues on their enemies, brought them through Red Sea, covered Pharaoh's chariots and soldiers with water, provided manna in desert).
   Why did they forget? Did they take God for granted? Were they ungrateful by nature? Did they feel they were entitled to his blessings—that somehow they deserved them? (Entitlement mentality)

2.      (Num 11:5) They remembered things they should have forgotten (fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, garlic).
Selective memory: nostalgia often colors past reality. They longed for their old life. They remembered their days of slavery as "the good old days"!
This is especially ironic because every day God sent new blessings all around them. Every day they had a fresh supply of manna to eat. But God's supernatural provisions had become so commonplace that they had grown tired of them. They lost their sense of awe.
"We're so sick of manna! We can't stand it any more. Everyday it's the same old thing: manna for breakfast; manna for lunch; manna for supper; manna for bedtime snack. We've had manna every way you can fix it: boiled manna; fried manna; poached manna; baked manna; manna shish-ka-bob; manna ala cart."
Isn't this like human nature? We lose our appetite for the things of God because we develop an unhealthy appetite for the things of Egypt—the things of the world. The sinful nature longs for spicy, savory things. The sinful nature has a taste for things that excite and arouse. We long for more tempting pleasures.
Human nature remembers the old ways, the ways of the world—things we should forget. But it forgets the slavery and the addictions that were killing us. Sinful nature forgets blessings of God—things we should remember.
   (Num 11:6) The Israelites had even gotten to the place where they despised the blessings of God.
It's good for us to go back, to remember the things God has done. It's good to count our blessings. It's good to name them "one by one." It's good to tell others what God has done, but it's just as good to tell ourselves.

3.      (Ps 106:13) They did not wait for God's counsel. They became impatient, demanding, insistent. They were stubborn, unwilling to listen for God's advice or be open to his will. Like a kid having a tantrum in the middle of Wal-Mart, laying on the floor, yelling and kicking and screaming. "I want this!"
They didn't want to wait for God to accomplish his plan in his time! Plant a GARDEN—you have to give it time to grow... An ACORN takes years to grow into an OAK TREE.

4.      (Ps 106:14) They gave in to craving, NASB: "craved intensely."  The word in the original Hebrew is avah meaning "desire, incline, covet, wait longingly, wish, sigh, want, be greedy, prefer."
What makes people crave? Selfishness; convenience; popularity; appetites; pleasures (Jas 4:3).
Notice that several things led up to this problem; they didn't just suddenly one day begin to crave the wrong things—it was a process. It takes time for your old car to RUST AWAY. It's the opposite of growing a garden—it's about ruin and decay. But it still takes time. You don't suddenly "backslide"; it's a slow erosion...bit by bit, small increments that pull us away.

5.      (Ps 106:14) They put God to the test. NASB: "tempted God."  How did they "tempt" God? By demanding that God give them what they wanted.
There is a difference between praying with boldness and confidence—humbly submitting our requests to the Lord's will—and demanding that God do whatever we think is right. We should pray with faith and confidence, but we should not demand.

6.      (Num 11:20) They rejected God! When we despise the things of God, we despise the Lord! When we reject his blessings, we reject him. If God sends you manna, don't be wailing for meat!
You see, God gave them what they needed. But they craved "other" food (Num 11:4,34). They already had manna to eat! God had provided them with something to eat. But they weren't satisfied with God's answer. They wanted "other" food!
When we confuse our wants from our needs, when we demand that God give us what we want, we run the risk of despising the needs he has provided. And when we despise the things of God, we despise him. The people rejected God!

There are CONSEQUENCES of craving "other" things and rejecting God: GOD MAY GIVE YOU WHAT YOU ASK FOR! (Ps 106:15). THEN you'll have to pay the price that comes with it.

KJV: And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.

MSG: He gave them exactly what they asked for—but along with it they got an empty heart.

Isn't it ironic? You can have your prayers answered but have leanness of soul. You can experience blessings but wind up with an empty heart.

God has a better plan in mind for us—"he has also set eternity in the hearts of men..." (Eccl 3:11). But by chasing after our own desires, we can end up with an empty heart and a lean soul.

The things we need most are not things the world advertises. What we need are not the latest fads or popular fashions. We don't need the toys—the boat, the ATV, the snowmobile, the cabin. The things we need the most are not material things at all. Even the most basic of material needs—food and clothing and shelter—though necessary, are not our most important needs.

The most important need of our lives is to know God. To have a relationship with him. To find a connection with the Almighty. Above all else, we need to know God through Jesus Christ.

It's nice to enjoy the blessings, but it's more important to enjoy the Blesser! It's better to know the One who blesses.

Physical, earthly blessings may lead to empty hearts—with leanness of soul and weak, sickly spirits!

God once said that David was a man after his own heart: "I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do." (Acts 13:22)

Can God say that about you? Are you a man or a woman who is "after God's own heart"? Do you do everything God wants you to do?

What does it mean to be a person who is "after God's own heart"? The Message paraphrases those words: "He's a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him."

Does your heart beat to God's heart? Do you feel God's pulse beat? Do you share his intense longings, his larger purpose and plan, his passionate desires?

Do the things that move God's heart move yours? Do you feel compassion for people like God feels? Do the things that disturb and anger him also disturb and anger you?

If we are "after God's own heart," if our heart "beats to God's heart," then we will draw close to God. We will connect with him in an intimate way. We will know him in a deep, personal way. And we will be able to follow him and serve him with a whole heart (not half-heartedly).

Instead of empty hearts, we will have hearts that beat to his heart. Instead of giving us leanness of soul, God "satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things" (Psalms 107:9).