The Danger Of Being Satisfied

TEXT: Deuteronomy 8:10-14

TITLE: THE DANGER OF BEING SATISFIED

The word “full” in verse 10 means satisfied and is translated satisfied in the NIV and the NASB. The Hebrew word “full” or “satisfied” means: “to fill to satisfaction. To have plenty of; to be fulfilled; to have one’s fill; to have in excess.”

The Israelites were a blessed people. God had been very good to them. Read verses 15 and 16. Later on God would bless them by giving them nice places to stay in, and He would multiply their wealth through flocks and herds as well as with silver and gold. They would eat of all that God would give them and become full and running over. Their stomachs (spiritually speaking) would be bulging out from all of the blessings of God.

You and I can look at that and say that is wonderful. Isn’t that just like our God to bless His people with so much? But the Lord knew that there was also a danger in their receiving so many blessings. He knew that there would be the tendency for them to forget Him now that they were so blessed. They would have the tendency to think that they didn’t need God now that things were going so well for them.

God knows that when people are so abundantly blessed that they have a tendency to forget who it was that enabled them to get their blessings. They have a tendency to enjoy the blessings but forget the blesser.

Read verses 18-20. In these verses the Lord tells them what will happen if the forget God after being satisfied.

It just may be that we have done what the Lord warned them about and what they themselves later did. It may be that in our time God has blessed us so much that we are filled up completely and satisfied and in that satisfaction we have forgotten God.

Just take a few moments and look around and then look at yourself and you will realize that we are a blessed people. The fact that we are here today is an indication that we are blessed. What I am afraid of is that we have become so blessed that we have become satisfied and forgotten God. We have forgotten that it is God who has blessed us and now that we are so blessed what He wants us to do is not quiet as important as it use to be. You say, not me pastor. I know this message isn’t for me, it must be for my brother or sister. But let’s consider some things here for just a moment.

We no longer hunger for the things of God like we use to before we became so blessed. We use to pray and read our Bibles all the time but now that we are so blessed and somewhat satisfied we don’t have time for the things of God.

When you first got saved and didn’t have as much you were always in church but now that you are blessed and somewhat satisfied your church attendance has become inconsistent.

We use to give more and be sure that our tithes were paid before anything else when we didn’t have as much, but now that God has blessed us and we have more we have become somewhat satisfied and no longer see the need to give as much and don’t feel condemned if we miss paying our tithes every now and then.

We use to do a lot in church, always volunteering for anything that needed to be done. But now that we are so blessed with a job, that the Lord has given us, we have become satisfied and don’t want to do anything for the Lord or the church. We don’t have time for Him because we work so much and we are tired when we come home. We forget that the Lord is the one who gave us that job. Would we have more time for Him if we were to lose that job?

Do you see what the Lord is trying to say to us all today? There is a danger in becoming satisfied.

Listen to a prayer found in Proverbs 30:8, 9 from TLB – “ (8) First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs! (9) For if I grow rich, I may become content without God. And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.”

Hosea 13:6 – “When they had pasture, [eaten] they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot Me.”

NIV – “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.”