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Overwhelmed and Satisfied?



“Overwhelm”, to paraphrase a dictionary, has the connotation of being overcome completely in mind or feeling.  There is a sense of being covered or buried beneath a mass of something.  It encompasses to load or heap with an overpowering or excessive amount of anything.

“Satisfy”, again to paraphrase, is to fulfill the desires, expectations, needs or demands of a person.  It is to give full contentment by sufficient or ample provision.

In excerpts from the song “One Thing Remains” (Kristian Stanfill), we find:

Your love never fails
It never gives up
It never runs out on me

Because on and on and
On and on it goes
It overwhelms
And satisfies my soul

Is the song writer on track?   Can we be both overwhelmed and satisfied at the same time?  Or, are they mutually exclusive?

Psalm 103 proclaims that:

  1. God is abounding in love (verse 8);
  2. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love (verse 11);
  3. His love is from everlasting to everlasting (verse 17).

With words like abounding, great and everlasting, it appears that God’s love can be overwhelming.

In another Psalm, the writer (Moses) indicates where he believes satisfaction comes from:  “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love.”  (Ps. 90:14). 

Since it appears that God’s love can be both overwhelming and satisfying, then perhaps the song writer is on track after all!

Overwhelmed and satisfied?  Not mutually exclusive but mutually inclusive!


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