Satisfaction…..Guaranteed
Remember that old Rolling Stones song: “I can’t get no satisfaction”? Bless their hearts. They were looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places. My blog today is about being satisfied, really satisfied – SATISFACTION guaranteed. People all over this world are looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or winning the lottery or getting that “dream” job and then they’ll KNOW, they’ll be satisfied.
Yesterday’s big news was that “former” quarterback Tom Brady, after retiring last month when his team lost the Super Bowl, announced via Twitter “I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business.” He wasn’t satisfied.
Today my heart goes out to the many persecuted Christians and homeless in the Ukraine. Imagine having all our pleasures and indulgences stripped away. No mall to shop at. No coffee bars. No social media. No cell phone to text with. Netflix or cable T.V. to entertain us. No gym membership to help us de-stress. No hair salons or spas to pamper us. No chocolate desserts or whipped mocha Frappuccino’s to enjoy.
Imagine losing all contact with those we love. No opportunity to see our spouses or friends or children, or even to hear their voices over the phone. Imagine it being just ourselves, 24/7. Could we be satisfied?
Many years ago I found that true satisfaction only comes from a deep love for the only ONE who promises true satisfaction –guaranteed. I have experienced the words of Psalm 16:11 “In YOUR presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” If I am looking for ultimate satisfaction in any form of entertainment or relationship, then I need to re-evaluate where I’m looking for satisfaction.
The Psalmist wrote: “SATISFY us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14) Every good gift that comes from God can only be ultimately enjoyed if we start by allowing Him to satisfy us. Wealth and honor don’t automatically bring satisfaction or contentment. In fact, sometimes they can bring unhappiness and grief.
An example of this was Howard Hughes, who at age 45, was one of the wealthiest men in America. Twenty years later, at age 65, he still had plenty of money—$2.3 billion to be exact. But the world’s richest man had become one of its most pathetic. He lived in small dark rooms atop his hotels, without sun and without joy. He had a scraggly waist-length beard and hair, and his fingernails were two inches long. His once powerful 6’4” frame had shrunk to about 100 pounds. Life held no meaning for him. Finally, wasting away and hooked on drugs, he died at age 67.
The lesson of Howard Hughes is this: “When God is left out of the equation, all that this world has to offer can be incredibly empty and unsatisfying.”
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be SATISFIED.” That is 100 percent guaranteed SATISFACTION. No matter what we face – sickness or health; riches or poverty; a multitude of friends or few friends; single or married; children or childless – the promise of “they shall be filled is true, because God fills. “Filled” is a verb in the past tense, which is not something that can be achieved, but rather it is something to be received. Christ alone gives genuine SATISFACTION.
I pray that your SATISFACTION includes a joy-filled life, family, a great job, friends, things that bring you pleasure, but more than all the intangibles and tangibles, I pray your greatest SATISFACTION comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ and when He is the SATISFIER, everything else in your life will be SATISFIED.