If satisfaction is a sense of pleasurable fulfillment derived from met expectations, then many people are dissatisfied today. If you happen to be less than satisfied with your current life experience, then I would like to ask you to consider something.
Do you feel frustrated or disappointed because you are assigning expectations to things that cannot measure up?
Think about it.
Might it be that the reason your expectations continue to go unmet is because they cannot be met by the things upon which you are placing them?
Maybe you expected to be more successful than you are right now, maybe you expected that your marriage wouldn’t be quite so difficult, or maybe you expected your child would have already been past that ridiculous phase. Maybe you expect that your house should not be so small, maybe you expect that your bank account should be bigger, or maybe you expect that your reputation should be more prestigious.
Whatever your expectations are, they may come from a desire to find satisfaction and contentment in something or someone who simply cannot measure up. If you are like most people, then the search for satisfaction often leads us away from the only place it can be found.
Allow me to illustrate:
I sometimes seek my own satisfaction and contentment from my wife. When she is not as affirming of me as I would like her to be, then I take this as a personal offense to my own worth. If I do not feel that she is meeting my needs as I would want, then my joy is stolen. In fact, in my dissatisfaction, I am very likely to react badly towards her. She then feels unloved and dissatisfied because of my attitude towards her. I am using myself in a personal illustration because I am sure that nothing like this has ever happened in your house…
You will never be satisfied or content if you look for these things in your spouse, your children, your parents, your lifestyle, your house, your job, your success, your good health, or yourself.
Let that sink in for a moment. None of these will satisfy your longing for something worthy of high expectations.
Alright, so how do we make this right?
Well, you could keep doing what you are doing right now. How is that working out for you? Or maybe you could look for someone or something that actually has the ability to satisfy your deepest longings.
I propose that you pursue the God of the universe, by reading and trusting His Word, so that you will really know Him. God, in Christ Jesus, is capable of satisfying you like you cannot imagine. Just consider what the Bible says in the Psalms:
“The [word] of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Ps 19:7–10).
I don’t know about you, but soul-reviving, trustworthy, wisdom-giving, heart-rejoicing, purifying, enlightening, cleansing, true, and right words are exactly the kinds of words I want in my head and in my heart. That sure sounds satisfying to me.
May God help us to seek our satisfaction in Him, so that we may actually be satisfied.
Holding the Line 