Only The Lord May Satisfy (Proverbs 14:30)

 

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. [Proverbs 14:30, ESV]

One of my favorite Bible passages describes what happens when we cast our burdens unto Jesus:

…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:6-7, ESV]

The peace of God is something that is so powerful that I struggle to describe it. One of the reasons why I love that passage so much is because it explains the peace of God in the best way possible. The peace of God “surpasses all understanding”. I have explained it to people by telling them how I could, for example, imagine what it would feel like to get hit in the head. I could imagine the pain I would feel, the headache (probably), the way the impact would surprise me, and how it would feel the next day. However, despite me having experienced the peace of God much more often than I have experienced being hit in the head, I really cannot describe the way God’s peace feels. It really does surpass all understanding.

When God’s peace surrounds us, we have the ability to be content, no matter our present circumstances. When we give God our problems, when we trust in Him, He gives us peace in our heart, and that gives life to our flesh. The term “flesh” is not being used in this verse as it is used in many of the Pauline Epistles. Rather than describing the sinful desires of man, this verse is describing our bodies, and our minds. As we walk with Christ, as we trust in Him, we receive His peace, which renews and strengthens our bodies and our minds.

On the other hand, when we do not seek the Lord, we end up seeking sinful, worldly things. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us all about how nothing matters aside from fearing God and keeping His commandments. We can never satisfy our worldly desires, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we accomplish, no matter how well we are doing in the eyes of others. This verse describes this idea very well. When we do not seek the Lord, we will always be searching for a way to satisfy our hearts’ desires, but we will never succeed. That envy will make our bones rot.

A heart that is set on the Lord will continually renew the body that it inhabits, but the envious heart will never be satisfied.