The book of Psalms is filled with brilliant one-liners and comforting truths.
Several years ago, when I was navigating a difficult personal trial, I stumbled across a verse that changed everything about how I think about finding fulfillment. I’ve kept this scripture on my phone’s lock-screen background ever since:
“For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9).
Why We Crave Something More
Longing is a part of human nature. One reason Disney musicals are so popular is because we relate to the “I Want” songs—in other words, the music that introduces us to a character’s deepest motivating desires. Belle wants “adventure in the great wide somewhere,” Hercules wants to find somewhere he can “feel like [he belongs],” and Ariel wants “to be where the people are.”
We, too, want our own “happily ever afters.” We love stories because they speak to our own version of “the hero’s journey.” As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf once said:
“[There] remains something undeniable, deep within our hearts, that hungers for a higher and nobler purpose. This hunger is one reason why people are drawn to the gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. … The Savior invites us, each day, to set aside our comforts and securities and join Him on the journey of discipleship.”
Where We Find True Fulfillment
This verse from Psalm 107 reminds me that the only way to truly fill my soul is by relying on “the author and the finisher” of my story—Jesus Christ. He will sustain me “with goodness,” nourishing me as I journey through adversity and fanning the flame of my faith.
Because of Him, eternal joy is possible. As Elder Bruce R. McConkie penned:
“I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: ‘Ye shall obtain.’”
As we navigate our soul’s hunger for something better than the world offers, Christ can shape our longing—aligning our hearts with His in what President Joseph F. Smith called “the education of our desires.” We must be willing to let go of our inner “natural man [and woman],” giving Him our “stony heart” in return for a “new heart ... and a new spirit” (see Ezekiel 36:26).
Divine Desire and Hope
This Christlike change of heart can help us find contentment—and even joy—as we wait for blessings yet to come. As Elder Brian K. Taylor taught in the April 2024 general conference:
“Why do some receive their yearned-for miracles quickly, while others patiently endure, waiting upon the Lord? We may not know the why, yet gratefully, we know He who ‘loveth [us]’ and ‘[doeth] all things for [our] welfare and happiness.’ …
“Coming to trust in God’s divine purposes breathes hope into weary souls and kindles determination in seasons of anguish and heartache.”
While we are physically distant from God during our mortal journeys, we will always have a spiritual hunger that cannot be filled completely. The writer C.S. Lewis suggested:
“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. ...
“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help others to do the same.”
Sustaining Grace—Now and Into Eternity
This desire for true fulfillment is what leads us to rely on Christ. He can sustain us with “daily bread”—filling “the hungry with good things” and allowing us to share this sustenance with others as well.
“Ultimately, it is His Atonement, His grace, that is our daily bread,” Elder D. Todd Christofferson explained. “We should seek Him daily, to do His will each day, to become one with Him as He is one with the Father.”
Even before we reach our story’s end, the Savior can satisfy our longing souls. He provides peace “which passeth all understanding,” deeply rooted courage, and boundless hope. He assures us that our fondest dreams are not only possible but a reality—making the pains of life sting less and the joys even richer.
And that’s sustenance that I don’t want to go even one day without.
Record Your Scripture Insights
For more scripture resources, check out the articles below.
▶ 7 Book of Mormon verses that have changed my perspective on body image
▶ 3 scriptures to bolster a missionary (that they might’ve not heard before)
▶ How to find the answer to any life question in the scriptures
