Dissatisfied

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:10-20

Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.                       (Prov. 27:20 NASB)

Have you ever noticed while driving in the country how cows and horses stretch their necks to get the grass just beyond their reach? What is wrong with the clover or rye that is out in the middle of the field? Nothing! They are just following the old adage that “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” Mankind is just as guilty of following this old adage as the animals. If we see a neighbor with a Cadillac, we want a Mercedes Benz. If they have a three bedroom house, we want one with four bedrooms. Man is never completely satisfied with his lot in life.

     It is my observation that the same practice applies to the spiritual realm. I remember years ago when we received a pin for perfect attendance in Sunday school. We wore the pin proudly and tended to measure a person’s spirituality by the number of pins they wore. In many churches today the level of spirituality is measured by the number of people on the membership rolls. If a neighboring church has a large choir and fancy robes we want a larger one. Why do we think God is impressed with bigness? God never asked us to become large or fancy. He is more interested in our humility and  love relationship.

     From the beginning of time man has harbored a spirit of dissatisfaction. It all began with Lucifer who looked in the mirror one day and decided he was greater than God. When his efforts failed to unseat God from his throne, he was dispossessed. Falling from his position in heaven he decided to get Adam and Eve to fall with him. By devious deceit he convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and she in turn gave it to Adam and he did eat. Both of them showed their dissatisfaction with God by disobeying his command to abstain from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They fell into sin and the whole human race fell with them.

     I believe it is part of man’s fallen nature to be dissatisfied. He is constantly reaching out for something beyond himself. We seem to think that more stuff, more achievements, more awards, more, more, more will make us happy. The truth is that nowhere in the word of God does the Lord of Heaven’s armies promise happiness. What is promised is joy! If we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we can experience joy in the midst of the direst circumstances.

     Do you have the joy of the Lord in your heart? Are you satisfied with Jesus? More importantly—is Jesus satisfied with you?

Prayer: Dear Lord, it is my desire to walk in the joy of my salvation throughout the day.