Loved and Protected

Remember that silly song? My English teacher Mrs. Pope would turn over in her grave if knew how far we’d fallen gramatically.

But the truth is that satisfaction is hard to come by these days. Look at all we have. We are a nation of comparatively wealthy people, many of whom have it all, and yet we are unhappy and complain at the least little inconvenience.

Think about it. We demand perfection in everything and can tolerate nothing less. We buy bigger and better houses because we’re tired of the ones we have, and take trips farther and farther abroad because we’re bored with what’s in our neighborhood. We entertain others because we want to show off what we have, and because we can’t wait to be envied.

Have you listened to the shopping networks’ pitches? The most common line we hear is, “Want others to envy you from clear across the room? Buy this.”

And yet once we buy we find that the satisfaction we expected to feel once we owned it, escapes us. We can spend vast amounts of money, getting away to beautiful places and see amazing and glorious vistas, eating and drinking rare and delicious things, but still the emptiness plagues us and satisfaction eludes us.

We can fill our minds with facts, argue endlessly about things that don’t matter, and even go to school until we’re eighty, obtaining degree after degree, but even that only proves we’re persistent. In the end it does nothing to bring satisfaction.

Remember King Solomon? He had it all, too, and what conclusion did he come to? In the Book of Ecclesiastes he says, “Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.” He was referring to doing and having it all and finding no satisfaction in any of it.

So where can we find satisfaction? Isaiah 55:1 says: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come, buy and eat….Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?” Verse 6 goes on to say: “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him.” Another version says, “And He will abundantly pardon.”

Whether we know it or not, we need God. Though we may never admit it, more than anything else we yearn for relationship with One who loves us unconditionally. We need to know we don’t have to prove ourselves in order to be valuable. But where do we find such a thing? In only one place. In the person of Jesus Christ, who traded His deity for suffering and humiliation–for you and me.

Those who have submitted their hearts to Christ and received forgiveness of sin no longer have to strive for satisfaction, because in Him we are filled up to overflowing, even if we never have a dime.

To know He smiles down on us is like warm sun breaking through dark clouds on a chilly day. Can you picture it? And once we turn from things and focus on Him, soaking in His tender love and care, we are filled up and satisfied, perhaps for the very first time.

What a wonderful God we serve, who blesses us with good things, but gives satisfaction for free. It’s just like Him to turn logic on its ear that way, isn’t it? May His great love inspire us to reach for Him instead of things.

Because of His great love,

Nancy 

Trackback URI | Comments RSS