We all know the ache of unmet expectations. Whether through circumstances, relationships, or our own desires, the things we hope will satisfy us often fall short. In You Are Satisfied, Joanna Kimbrel points readers back to the one place lasting contentment can be found—life with Christ. Through an 8-week journey through Scripture, she explores how God’s promises, provision, plan, and presence reshape our hearts and meet us in the middle of life’s highs and lows.
You Are Satisfied is available to order now! I’m grateful for Joanna’s thoughtful encouragement in these pages and hope you enjoy getting to know her a bit more in today’s Sneak Peek.
1. Can you give us an update on what life is like for you in this season?
Life is wonderfully full! I’m raising three young daughters with my husband, working part time for The Gospel Coalition, serving in my local church, and doing some writing and teaching as I’m able. This season has also been a time of significant growth for me that the Lord has brought about through the kinds of challenges I wouldn’t choose but also wouldn’t trade. I’m so grateful for the work he’s doing in me.
2. What first stirred your heart to write You Are Satisfied? Was there a particular season or struggle that inspired this devotional?
You Are Satisfied came out of a really challenging season that, in a lot of ways, I’m still walking through. The season has included a chronic illness diagnosis, church hurt, navigating broken relationships, difficult transitions for my kids, and many other things. In the middle of the hard, I needed to know that satisfaction and contentment aren’t reserved for easier circumstances. This has been one of the hardest seasons of my life, but also one of the most joyful. As I’ve leaned on Jesus, I’ve experienced a deep satisfaction, not because everything changed, but because he didn’t. So I wrote this book because I needed it, and I believe others do too. This devotional is an invitation to anchor our satisfaction in the unchanging God, even when life feels unstable.
3. How is the book structured?
You Are Satisfied is an 8-week devotional designed to help you satisfy the longings of your hungry heart in Christ. With five readings each week, every chapter explores satisfaction from a different angle—Satisfied in God’s Word, Satisfied in All Circumstances, Satisfied in God’s Plan, and more—uncovering where we tend to look for fulfillment and where it’s truly found.
Each day begins with a passage of Scripture and a question to help you slow down and name what’s really going on beneath the surface before you jump into the day’s devotional content.
You won’t just read, you’ll respond. Every entry ends with reflection questions and space to write directly in the book.
On the fifth day of each week, the focus turns intentionally to Jesus, showing how he is the ultimate source of our satisfaction.
And at the end of each week, you’ll find a practical prompt to help you live it out and share what you’re learning with others.
4. For the busy woman who feels spiritually dry or overwhelmed, how would you encourage her to begin this journey without adding another burden?
Oof, I’ve been there. So let me tell you what I would tell myself. First, shift your mindset. Instead of thinking of time in God’s Word as a burden, remind yourself that it’s a gift. Take a deep breath and exhale, knowing that God isn’t mad at you if you struggle to be consistent. If you feel pressure building, remember that the purpose of a spiritual habit isn’t to be a “good Christian,” but to know God and to receive his transformative and restorative love.
Second, don’t get hung up on perfection. Just because it’s a 40 day devotional doesn’t mean you have to complete it in 40 consecutive days. Take it at your own pace. There’s no rush.
Third, ask for help. If you’re overwhelmed, ask someone to help you fold laundry or babysit while you take 30 minutes to sit with God. If you’re feeling spiritual dry, ask someone to do the devotional along with you and pray for you.
Finally, just start. You know how sometimes you go so long without eating that you stop feeling hungry, and then when you finally eat you realize just how hungry you were? I think God’s Word is like that sometimes. We don’t realize how much our souls are starved until we open our Bibles and take a bite!
5. Was there a particular Scripture passage that anchored you as you wrote?
Mathew 5:6 is the anchor for this devotional, and it says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” The promise of this verse is that the peace and beauty we long for is coming in eternity! And not only that, we can experience the satisfaction of eternal life right now. My hope is that this devotional will help us do just that.
6. For a sneak peek, here are some quotes:
“The Christian life is full of desert seasons—times when your hopes seem to shrivel under the scorching heat of trials. Seasons when you’re thirsty for encouragement that feels nonexistent. Seasons of spiritual drought that make you wonder if the rain will ever come again…God’s love is water for our fainting souls.” (Week 3, Day 1)
“Because God loved us perfectly when we were his enemies, we can be confident that his love won’t falter as we fail.” (Week 3, Day 2)
“Are you weak and weary? Go to the Good Shepherd, and he will give you rest. Are you battered and broken? Jesus knows what it is to be hurt, and he will bind up your wounds. Do you feel hungry and helpless to find the satisfaction you long for? Go to the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, because he will nourish your soul. You can trust him to care for you.” (Week 4, Day 5)
“Christ is our greatest delight. Christ is our unwavering strength. Christ is our unfailing hope.” (Week 5, Day 3)
7. Here are some endorsements:
“For those seeking deeper satisfaction in Christ, You Are Satisfied is a timely and helpful guide. In this devotional, Joanna Kimbrel directs readers to God’s Word, asking thoughtful questions that reveal where we may be tempted to pursue lesser joys. By carefully considering timeless truths from the text, Kimbrell reorients our hearts toward the only One who offers the lasting fulfillment we were created to desire.”
Hunter Beless, Author; founder of Journeywomen Ministries
“Joanna’s life bears the good fruit of this book’s message: You are satisfied. Each devotion is deeply rooted in God’s Word and will comfort longing hearts with his promises and remind weary souls where true contentment can be found—in Christ alone. Like a warm blanket, Joanna’s words wrap around us, whispering the reminder that Jesus is more than enough, that he is with us, and we are satisfied in him.”
Gretchen Saffles, Author of The Well-Watered Woman: Rooted in Truth, Growing in Grace, Flourishing in Faith
“Joanna masterfully covers the core truths women need to know to grow deep with God. So many of us glaze past these essentials, but You are Satisfied encourages us to slow down and truly savor the goodness of God’s Word.”
Emily A. Jensen, Author of He is Strong and coauthor of Risen Motherhood
8. If you had to choose one simple everyday pleasure that feels like a small taste of contentment, what would it be, and why?
I think I’d have to choose a sunrise walk. Walks are some of my favorite prayer times. I see and hear and smell the beauty of God’s creation. I move the body he gave me. I walk with him in quiet and unhurried moments.
Joanna Kimbrel serves as coordinator of women’s initiatives for The Gospel Coalition. She is the author of You Are Satisfied, The Greatest Hero, and Jesus Is Better and coauthor of Behold and Believe: A Bible Study on the I Am Statements of Jesus. You can also find her writing contributions at Journeywomen, Well-Watered Women, and The Gospel Coalition. Joanna and her husband, Chad, live with their three daughters in Georgia.
