Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. Isaiah 55:2
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
Lingering Dissatisfaction
We know that true satisfaction only comes from God, yet we look in the wrong places expecting them to do for us what only God can do. And we do it over and over again. This past Sunday Pastor Jim told us that Dissatisfaction Comes When We Replace God.
Anytime we look to something else to give us what only God can provide we are replacing God with that thing/person/experience, etc, and this is idolatry. We are giving something else God’s place in our lives, and it can happen quick, before we even realize it.
Sometimes we may become dissatisfied with God and turn to other things to replace him. If we are replacing God with something else that we believe will give us satisfaction, we may have a wrong view of God. God is sovereign and in control of life. He is faithful and a promise keeping God. He is who he says he is. When we have a flawed view of God we can become dissatisfied. We want God to do things our way and our prayers exactly as we think they should be answered. We quickly become dissatisfied if it doesn’t go the way we think it should and we look to something else to make us feel better. If we believe God is who he says he is and we trust his sovereignty with our lives, we will trust him to answer our prayers in the very best way and we will be satisfied with whatever that answer is.
Sometimes we believe we deserve everything we want, and we deserve to be happy. But what would it take to make us happy? More money? Different looks? A better job, car, house, or spouse? Believing these things can certainly breed discontent and dissatisfaction with God. We search for false gods to replace him with that we believe will make us happy, and they may for a minute. Then dissatisfaction sets in again and off we go.
We can spend lots of money on what we think is bread that will satisfy only to find out it doesn’t. Only when we turn to him and his abundance will we be satisfied. All the wrong things we turn to only make us thirstier and hungrier than we were before. Only when we drink the living water that leads to eternal life will we be truly satisfied. The longer we spend searching, the longer the dissatisfaction will linger. Satan loves for us to be dissatisfied. As long as we are dissatisfied and we keep looking somewhere else than to God, it keeps us from focusing on him and walking in a relationship with him. In his eyes, anytime he can turn us away from God it is a win.
So how can we refocus and make sure we turn to him to find the satisfaction we desire?
· Focus on God and your relationship with him. The temptation to feel dissatisfaction will weaken when we are in a relationship with God. That relationship will spread to every part of our lives. Focus on him and his kingdom – where satisfaction lies - and not the things of this world – that only gives dissatisfaction.
· Believe God’s promises. Find and memorize scripture that is meaningful to you and reminds you of the satisfaction that only God brings.
· Put safeguards in place. What do you need to change in your life that will keep you from the temptation of dissatisfaction? Maybe you need to stay off social media. Do the ads that pop up make you want more? Do the influencer profiles you see bring you feelings of dissatisfaction in your real life? Think of how God has blessed you and thank him. Volunteer at a homeless shelter and think about what you have and what they don’t. Ask for accountability from a Christian friend.
· Know that the Holy Spirit brings victory. Remember that defeating dissatisfaction can only be found in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do it in our own power.
Why waste time and resources running after something you will never find. Like the verses above say, why spend money for what doesn't satisfy? And why drink water that only makes us thirsty for more? Trust in God daily and lean into him. He can help us break free from dissatisfaction and help us find satisfaction in him.
