#1 - WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE TIME FOR ONE VERSE

A GOOD HEART WITH RENEWED SPIRITUAL STRENGTH

Psalm 103:5 - “....who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

There is a wonderful logic in this short verse. It tells of a life that is kept young by the power of inner satisfaction rather than a turning back of the clock. There is no way, on this earth, to start counting back the years to twenty after you have already reached forty. The direction of our days never changes. In another famous phrase from the Psalms the writer tells us that a large part of living life wisely and righteously lies precisely in calculating the number of days we are likely to have left on this earth:

Psalm 90:12 - “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

But if the years can’t be turned back, our text from Psalm 103 does tell us how to keep our hearts from growing weary and worn out. And this is a more common problem than many think. How many times have you heard said of someone, “My, he’s certainly aged over this past year”, or, “He seems to be growing old before his time.”

The common explanation for that in our culture has been the person is gradually or suddenly becoming the victim of overwork or stress. Somehow life has been cruel and difficult. Even though the years haven’t piled up any faster for this one person than any other (we all age chronologically at exactly the same pace) the toll of those years has been greater due to heaviness of the burden carried.

And certainly there is some truth to this. Even the Apostle Paul recognized that life has its seasons. We all know what it’s like to be “in season” or “out of season,” depending on the kind of circumstances we are facing at the moment. We would paraphrase Paul’s words with “life has its ups and downs.” Trial are real and can be heavy. Life isn’t always easy, for sure.

But I want to offer you an additional explanation for people growing old before their time. This explanation arises out of our text. And so does its remedy:

1) THE ISSUE OF RENEWED YOUTH IS FOUND IN INNER SATISFACTION WITH GOD, NOT EASE OF CIRCUMSTANCE

Look at this verse again:

Psalm 103:5 - “....who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

The Psalmist is quite clear. Satisfaction brings rejuvenation. This is how the heart is kept young. So we see, by contrast, how people find life grinding old too soon. They fail to find their deepest satisfaction in God. Or, perhaps more accurately, they try to find true satisfaction in the wrong things.

Think carefully and deeply with me about this one principle for just a minute longer. It has the potential to realign and freshen your whole being in the Lord. The Psalmist had never been to a psychiatrist or therapist. He had never read the “One Minute Manager” or any other such advice. But he tells us all - all of us in this fast-paced world - that we’re in danger of missing the most important thing we can know. He tells us people don’t wear out primarily from too much stress, but from too little nourishment.

Of course, this kind of spiritual leanness isn’t visible to anyone else. This is why it’s so easy to blame it on mere business or psychological stress. Outsiders - and sometimes we ourselves - can easily place the root of the problem in circumstances.

But there’s another explanation to be considered. Consider Paul’s famous words in 2 Corinthians 4:16 - “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

In other words there is a Biblical answer to the natural drag-down of external circumstances. People don’t wear out nearly as often as they starve from spiritual malnourishment. Of course, those two things are related at least in this sense: If you are spiritually malnourished you certainly will feel the stress of life more deeply and more quickly. I’m not arguing for a moment that life can be very difficult at times.

But the Psalmist is trying to tell us that, while life certainly can be fast and crammed and trying, this is not the determining factor in keeping a vibrant inner life. People begin to lose their inner youth when they begin to lose God.

I repeat, the issue of renewed rejuvenation is found in inner satisfaction in God, not in ease of circumstance.

But there is more in this little verse:

2) HERE IS A SPIRITUAL LAW - PEOPLE WILL GROW OLD BEFORE THEIR TIME IF THEY CONFUSE PLEASURE WITH JOY

There is a certain delight in pleasures. Pleasures feel good. That’s why we call them pleasures. Joy, on the other hand, brings satisfaction. Satisfaction is different from pleasure. Satisfaction is more than a good feeling. Satisfaction completes something in your being.

This cuts to the heart of what is on the Psalmist’s mind in our text. He calls us to find, not only happiness in circumstance but satisfaction in God.

This is the Psalmist’s lesson. Satisfaction can only be found in God. And people can’t find sustained satisfaction in mere pleasure. They can only find pleasure in pleasure. They can satiate any physical senses temporarily, but they will never come and receive fullness at the banquet table of God.

In fact, the Bible teaches pleasure is perhaps the biggest enemy of satisfaction in God:

Luke 14:16-20 - “But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. [17] And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' [18] But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.' [19] And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.' [20] And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'”

With all the sinister work of the Devil - as he prowls around like a lion, roaring and baring his teeth - what is it that finally keeps people from the banquet table of God? A piece of land, a pair of oxen, and domestic responsibilities. Jesus says this is how people miss the banquet table of God. They miss the best by the apparent demand of the urgent. They confuse the zest of sheer material, visible accomplishment with deep inner satisfaction.

This is the invisible idolatry - rarely perceived as wicked - that quickly ages all its participants. No wonder the prophets were constantly calling people to re-evaluate how truly satisfied they were with the lives they were living:

Isaiah 55:1-2 - “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. [2] Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

Notice two things here. First, note the repetition of the phrases, “without money,” and “without price.” This is God’s way of distinguishing between what seems the most natural way of revealing earthly security and accomplishment and the uncomparably greater satisfaction only God Himself can provide. And God makes such a repeated point in this text because He knows how hard it is for me to deeply believe this.

Which leads to the second point from this text. Look at those questions - again repeated for emphasis - in verse 2 - “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”

Why indeed. What makes us to this so repeatedly? We’re going to close looking at that question.

So don’t just shuttle those words off to some group of backslidden Jewish idolaters in 600 B.C. They are the Spirit’s constant call to people seeking satisfaction in life. They are the key to abiding youth and nourishment. They are an invitation to joy.

3) YOU MEASURE YOUR SATISFACTION IN GOD BY THE LOSS OF URGENCY IN ANYTHING ELSE AS THE SOURCE OF YOUR DEEPEST JOY

Notice I said “deepest joy.” I know we all have things to do. Things that must get done. But even these good things will sap satisfaction from your heart if they become your reason for daily life.

The Psalmist doesn’t promise a young heart to just anyone interested in God. He offers his advice to those who are satisfied in God. So the question naturally arises: How can I know if I am such a person? In spite of what I sing in church, how can I know I am finding this kind of satisfying relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

It’s not a question to be skipped over lightly. And there is a way of diagnosing a correct answer, if you are honest and humble enough to search for it:

John 6:35 - “Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

“Shall not hunger - Shall never thirst.” The truest level of where you are spiritually is found in what satisfies your heart. Jesus said He came to fill the life in such a way that He wasn’t just one of the things bringing pleasure to the life, but He satisfied the life in such a way that there was no passionate hunger for anything else - “He who comes to me will not hunger - he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

For the one who comes to Jesus in true belief, competing hungers are not allowed dominance in the heart. This is not, as the world might think, because we have no interest in inward delight, but because we have found a deeper delight in the Lord than can be found anywhere else. The deepest hunger and the deepest thirst have found their rest in God.

Here is the test for the Godward heart: In the words of Jesus’ parable, is there still something else, some other attraction, keeping you from God’s banquet table?

Make that question specific. By banquet table we mean thriving devotional life - passionate and sacrificial kingdom stewardship - lively church involvement and worship - energetic service in the kingdom of God. The banquet table in Jesus parabolic language is a real thing. And the key point here is only the heart satisfied in God in these specific ways will experience renewed satisfaction.

4) HOW CAN I TRAIN MY HEART TO BE SATISFIED IN GOD?

Psalm 103:5 - “....who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

“Pastor Don, here’s my problem. I would be satisfied like the Psalmist if God were filling up my life with good things. But He isn’t. I’m disappointed with the cards He’s dealing to me. How can my soul be renewed in the middle of the mess my life is in? How can I possibly change my outlook when I don’t see many good things coming from God right now?”

I think this is the question we all want answered at one time or another. And I think the Psalmist has an answer. You will perhaps see it more clearly if we look at our verse for the day in its context:

Psalm 103:1-5 - “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! [2] Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [4] who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, [5] who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”

The question we’re asking in this fourth point is, “how can I train my mind to be satisfied in God?” And what I want you to see, as we wrap up this teaching, is this is exactly what the Psalmist is doing in these verses. He’s training his mind to be satisfied in God.

That means this is a process. And here’s the most important point from tonight. This training process is like any other kind of training. This means you must commit deeply to spiritual pursuits before you actually find delight in them.

I have so often wished I could scream this from the rooftops. You build the habit before you reach the goal. That’s the way training works. That Olympic athlete was no where close to being ready to compete the first time she stepped into the gym. You go to get ready. Not because you are ready.

Listen. You have no idea how many Christians don’t get this. You don’t go to church regularly because it love it. You go to church regularly so you will love it. And the same with building a prayer life. Or a devotional life. Or finding the joy of service or giving.

And here’s where you will start to find the fuel for this transformation. The renewing of your youth is tied to your memory. If we forget the benefits we will miss the rejuvenation. Look at the verbs leading up to verse five - “Forgives (3).” “Heals (3).” “Redeems (4).” “Crowns (4).” And “Renews” (5).

Our minds are dreadfully weak when it comes to remembering mercies. Amazingly, the same people who can remember a wedding anniversary that rolls around 20 years after the wedding, or a birthday that only comes one day in 365, can’t concentrate on blessings regularly received from God’s hand.

I’ll tell you why this is so. What makes the anniversary rememberable (hopefully) is the fact that it doesn’t happen very often. But the Bible says God’s mercies are new every morning. The Bible says the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. We never live a day without it.

This is both a blessing and a problem. It’s a blessing because our lives have been redeemed from destruction and crowned with loving kindness. It’s a problem because regular blessings will always be forgotten blessings. This is why the Psalmist shows me how to train my heart to be satisfied in God. He’s says I must remember and praise.

Just take the joy of being pardoned all our iniquities. To be forgiven one transgression is a great relief. How much greater to be forgiven all - every wrong ever committed before a holy and just God! Remember the state of angels who sinned much like we, who are offered no pardon or forgiveness at all.

I wonder if any of those thoughts were in the Psalmist’s mind when, right in this very Psalm, he wrote these words:

Psalm 103:10-12 - “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. [11] For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;[12] as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

Because this is the greatest blessing of all it should move our hearts. Yet, because we live with this divine provision every day, our hearts can grow as cold as stones toward it. This is how spiritual old age sets in.

Thoughtful, passionate praise renews spiritual youth. It removes heaviness:

Isaiah 61:3 - “....to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

These are the only pairs of existence offered. Your spirit must put on praise or settle for perpetual faint-heartedness. For your own soul’s sake, take very seriously every summons to worship. This kind of praise-filled responsiveness isn’t the binge of some over-emotional charismatic. Renew your soul’s youth in the daily richness of God’s goodness. Heed the Spirit’s summons to remembrance. Your youth depends on it.

Just this week I read these wonderful words from Spurgeon’s Morning And Evening. Here’s how you can trace this growth of being more and more satisfied in the good grace of God in your life:

“The important thing is not to get discouraged. Look for the growing signs of increased life. If you could indulge in sin, without fear of punishment, yet that very indulging in sin would be punishment in itself; if you could have the whole world, and live in it forever, yet that without God would be misery too great for your soul, then be of good courage because God is what you crave. With all your sins and imperfections, still be comforted knowing that if your soul has no rest in sin, you are not dead in sin. If you are still craving and crying for something better, then God has not forsaken you, because you have not forgotten Him.”

Live in the life renewing truth of this single verse from the Psalms this week: Psalm 103:5 - “....who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”