When my wonderful friend, Dianna asked me to
contribute to her website with a blog on the topic of “Are you satisfied” I
felt somewhat hesitant. How could I speak on being satisfied, when I myself had
not mastered the art of satisfaction? Just recently, I found myself discouraged
as I watched friends, family and colleagues continue surpassing me in regards
to my “goals”. It is not uncommon to find yourself in situations that bring you
to question your satisfaction in life and bring you to the thoughts of“if
only”… “When I get married I will be truly happy,” or “When I finally get the
job I want, then I will be content,” and the list goes on. It can be
challenging to find contentment in a generation of people who are discontent. I
want to start by saying satisfaction does not happen overnight; this is a daily
decision. Jesus told us to take up our cross daily, that includes making a
daily decision to be satisfied and content; for it is not God’s will that we be
discontent. Matter of fact he said, “I am the bread of
life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall
never thirst.” (John 6:35) The only one who can provide you with a lasting
satisfaction is Jesus Christ. Oftentimes we have these voids and as cliché as
it sounds, we begin looking for fulfillment in the wrong places. You don’t have
to rack up debt for “retail therapy”, you don’t have to indulge yourself in unhealthy
food that damages your temple, and you certainly don’t have to abuse alcohol or
drugs to fill the voids in your life. Jesus is the answer.
Satisfaction is defined as two things: (1) fulfillment of one's wishes, expectations, or
needs, or the pleasure derived from this; (2) the payment of a debt or
fulfillment of an obligation or claim. The second definition resonates with me,
the payment of a debt. This leads me directly into where our satisfaction comes
from; Christ. Christ was the payment for the debt of the sins of the world. If
Christ has already fulfilled the debt, then what leads to our dissatisfaction? Rather
than focusing on dissatisfaction, I think the answer to overcoming
dissatisfaction is learning how to be content. The bible speaks a great deal on
contentment. Paul was a great example of what learning to be content looks like.
In Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) Paul states “Not that I was ever in need, for I
have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on
almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every
situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty with plenty or little.
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Notice that after Paul states he has learned
the art of contentment, he states that he can do all things through Christ. It
seems to me that Paul learned to be satisfied in spite of his circumstances
because he found the strength to do so in Christ. It is important to
understand, you can’t find TRUE contentment in anyone or anything other than
Christ. You can indulge in behaviors or things that fulfill you temporarily but
only Christ can fill the voids in your life permanently.
Paul had a lot to be
dissatisfied about in his life, yet he stated that he could be hungry and still
be content and he could also have nothing but be content. It is important to
understand that contentment does not come from materialistic things.
Contentment is an attitude. As believers we can find ourselves living a
discontented life because we have set worldly goals and desires. 1 Tim
6:6-10“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all we
brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything
with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be
content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by
many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people,
craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with
many sorrows.” Money will not bring you satisfaction; it is your thankfulness
to God in spite of what you have. Ecc 5:10 “Those who love money will never
have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.” I
came up with 3 things that have helped me find fulfillment through Christ
alone.
3 Steps toward a content heart
1.)
Stop comparing yourself to others. Proverbs 14:
30 “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the
bones.” The bible constantly tells us not to covet our neighbor, we know that
envy and jealousy are not of God yet we find ourselves envious of other’s
lifestyles. This is such a huge step in finding contentment. We know that
cancer is such a deadly disease and everyday people lose their lives to it. If
the bible is putting jealousy and cancer on equal playing grounds, it is safe
to say that jealousy kills. It can kill your dreams, your relationships and
your contentment.
2.)
Have a heart to give. Luke 6:38 reads, “Give and
it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,
and running over, shall men give into your bosom…” The bible commands us to
give; but your giving is not in vain for it will return to us and this time it
will be overflowing. Not only is it commanded of us to give but you would be
surprised how much satisfaction you get from giving to others. If you give to
others who are in need you are likely to see that your lifestyle is not as
dissatisfying as you think and you will find yourself in an attitude of
gratitude.
3.)
Have a heart of Thanksgiving. Psalms 95:2 says,
“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise
unto him with psalms.” Too many times we enter the presence of God unthankful.
It is disrespectful to be ungrateful and discontent when we serve a God who has
sacrificed his one and only son’s life for our sins. Learn to be thankful in
spite of, because it truly could always be worst. Once you practice the art of
being thankful, you will notice that the lack of things that aren’t essential
to your day to day living no longer dissatisfies you.
5 Promises of Satisfaction
- Jesus said to them, “I am the
bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes
in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
- For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:9)
- The afflicted shall eat and be
satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live
forever! (Psalm 22:26)
- Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matt 6:25-26)
- But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well. (Matt 6:33)
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