Abba Poemen: Does Not Satisfy

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Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9

“Do not give your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.”

Abba Poemen (340-450) Egyptian Coptic Monk in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection, trans. Benedicta Ward (Kalamazoo: Cisterian, 1975) 178.

The global pandemic has rightly shaken our attachment to things that were never intended to satisfy us. We must give our heart to the Giver and not the gifts He has given us to enjoy and share. When we give our heart to the Giver, we give it to the one who “satisfies the thirsty” and “fills the hungry with good things.”

Don’t give your heart to things that do not satisfy. Don’t seek things but more of God. Put your cup under His spigot. Be filled and positioned for unthinkable generosity.