ONLY JESUS CAN SATISFY YOUR SOUL

The internet is a great source of information. But it does fall short when information just isn't available anywhere. And that is very often the case when you are trying to find the background of the writing of hymns and songs from this era. I tried in vain to find anything about the background of my choice for this week. However, I did find out a few things about the writer, Lanny Wolfe. He was born and raised in a middle class family in Ohio. His father, a railroad engineer, was not a churchgoer. His mother was the daughter of a Methodist preacher. She sang and played guitar in revival services while still a teenager, traveling across the Midwest and the East. Lanny faithfully rode a city bus to church each week with his mother, brother and sister. He began piano lessons at the age of nine and his pastor's wife allowed him, as a teenager, to play piano for a camp choir. Of personal interest to me was that in 1963 he got married (I was married in 1962), he graduated from Ohio State (same year I graduated from Susquehanna), and he got his first real job, teaching math (same year as I did). In 1965 he became a director of music at a Bible College in California. Later he began to write music and he has been one of the more prolific writers of Christian music in his era. (You can read his complete biography at BIO.) So while I know nothing about the background of this Gospel song, the message is clear and so key for today's world. This is a song that our family sang frequently during our family ministry because of the special message it conveys. People are looking for meaning in life in all the wrong places, and we have the answer. It's only Jesus who can satisfy the soul. Fame, fortune and wealth fall short and often lead to depression and loneliness. But Jesus can change the heart and make man whole. My prayer is that you have discovered this truth and that your soul is satisfied because you've trusted Him.

(1) The world may try to satisfy

That longing in your soul.

You may search the wide world over

But you'll be just as before.

You'll never find true satisfaction

Until you've found the Lord,

For only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Yes, only He can change your heart

And make you whole.

He'll give you peace you never knew,

Sweet joy and love and Heaven, too.

For only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

(2) If you could have the fame and fortune,

All the wealth you could attain.

Yet, you have not Christ within,

Your living here would be in vain.

There'll come a time when death will find you,

Riches cannot help you then.

So, come to Jesus, only He can satisfy.

Only Jesus can satisfy your soul:

Yes, only He can change your heart

And make you whole.

He'll give you peace you never knew,

Sweet joy and love and Heaven, too.

Only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Yes, only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Listen to it here. LISTEN