November 2020 — pg. 11
L+L: What do you think Jesus meant by the word
“filled” or “satisfied”?
Estelle Martin: After Jesus ministered to the woman at
the well in John 4, He responded to the disciples who were
urging Him to eat and said, “I have food to eat of which
you do not know” (NKJV). Then He said, “My food is to
do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
I believe He meant that being filled or satisfied physically
is not enough and cannot be compared to the infilling
and indwelling of God’s abiding presence, which comes
from hungering and thirsting for what pleases Him and
having a willingness to hear and obey His voice no matter
how much the carnal nature cries to be fed. There is a holy
peace and connection with God and a humbling of my
spirit knowing that the safest place in all the world is to be
in the will of God who has sent us forth and commissioned
us in ministry. I believe Jesus used the words “filled” or
“satisfied” to mean that the more we stay in tune to the
Spirit of God and focus on His plan, will and purpose for
our lives, we will want to willingly and gladly walk in the
Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Laura Warth: When I began to seek God purposely and
intentionally, He began to satisfy the needs that I thought
Brian, my husband, should have satisfied. God began to
satisfy me with peace and in understanding who I was.
God became everything that I needed so that when it
came time for my husband, he was just the icing on the
cake. He was no longer the cake. It took the burden off of
Brian. I had him on this pedestal, and I took him off. Only
God belonged there. I came to a place where God began
to satisfy and fulfill every need that I had, so when it came
to Brian, I was happy and content with what he was able to
offer me. I know it sounds radical, but that’s what happens
when you spend hours with God every single day. You
begin to know Him personally.
L+L: How have you sensed that filling or satisfaction
in your own life?
Laura Warth: I don’t want people to think it’s easy to say
that about being filled because I’m married. Keep in
mind that Brian was in prison 16 years. I didn’t have a
husband out here with me. I was living on my own alone
for almost the entire 16 years. At 16, he went in; at 19, I
moved out on my own. For most of the time that he was
in there, I was alone, and so I know what it feels like to not
have somebody out here and with you as a family. Now
after Brian’s release I had to come back the other way,
and God had to show me all over again what it was to
make sure that I understood that God was first.
Estelle Martin: If I truly hunger and thirst for
righteousness, He keeps His promise and a well of living
water springs up inside of me that spills over and fills
every empty place and replaces every need and desire for
anything but more of Him. When I seek Him earnestly
and sincerely with all my heart, mind, body, soul and
spirit, He does not disappoint. How badly do I want
Him? Sometimes I crave and yearn so hungrily for Him
after I get busy and caught up in the ministry where I am
too tired to spend quality time with Him. Then when I
come humbly before His throne with a repentant heart
and earnestly ask Him to fill and satisfy the thirsting of
my soul, He lovingly responds by emptying the essence
of His Spirit and depositing it inside the core of my being
to overflow. When Jesus fills and satisfies, He graciously
gratifies, satiates, provides and supplies all that I need to
stand and live a victorious, holy and blameless life without
reproach. I also know too that being hungry and thirsty
means I will always want to come back to Him for more
of Him when I find myself empty and dry, which is a
good thing. Why do you think Starbucks, McDonald’s,
Kroger, Walmart and other companies are successful in
keeping the consumer coming back for more? They have
something that we all like and continue to need. Lord, may
“God had to show me all over again what it was to make sure
that I understood that God was first.”
— Laura Warth
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