Dissatisfied and Disgruntled

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare” Isaiah 55:2.

Ten years ago this month is when God called me to go more deeply with Him.  Every morning for the past 29 days I have wished God a happy anniversary for us.  Before February of 2006 I had spent the biggest part of my adult life chasing after things that lacked satisfaction.  I can so relate to King Solomon who had everything he could ever want but penned how empty his life really had been.  ‘I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind’ Eccl. 1:14.  My chase was relentless as I was consumed with being accepted by the ‘A team’ in my community (which never happened).  My pursuit of parental perfection was shattered as I went through a very public prodigal experience.  My race to retail as therapy only satisfied my soul until the guilt of secrecy and deception set in.  2006 changed everything when my appetite for the world was gradually replaced with my appetite for God’s offerings.

When we are walking with the Spirit and experiencing His satisfaction it will be evident to those around us.  Satisfaction in the Spirit is looking beyond our own families and serving those who have nothing to give us in return.  Delighting in the richest of fare is setting aside our own agendas to pick up the will of God.  Contentment in Him means understanding that we were not put in this life to judge others but to allow God to bring justice in our situation.  Lasting satisfaction will never come through our jobs, our spouses, our children or our bank accounts.  True satisfaction will only come when we delve deeply into fellowship with God and feast daily on His word.  ‘The most obvious symptom of a soul in need of God’s satisfaction is a sense of inner emptiness.  The awareness of a hollow place somewhere deep inside – the inability to be satisfied – ought to be a flashing caution light to every believer...The more we’ve been satisfied by God’s love, His Word, and His presence, the more we will yearn for it.’ Living Free, p. 78-79.

Dissatisfaction left unchecked leads to crumbling marriages, ineffective vocations and unrealized destinies.  The only true and lasting satisfaction comes from the Lord.

“You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing...He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” Psalm 145:16, 19.