Discontentment in our lives is often the same way. Instead of knowing who we already are, who we are created to be, we try to become someone by searching for external trappings. The child of God has been created with royal blood in his or her veins. We are royalty. We are children of the King of kings. Yet why do we spend so much of our lives seeking to matter? Why do we spend so much time searching for things that will make us feel important? What will it take to show us that God has created us because He wants to love us? Dad wants to love you. He wants to love me too. It’s not what we do or what we have. It’s just because we are us.
The book of Proverbs speaks of this “not enough” syndrome. “The leech has two daughters, crying, Give, give! There are three things that are never satisfied, yes, four that do not say, It is enough: Sheol (the place of the dead), the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that says not, It is enough.” (Proverbs 30:15-16) The two daughters seem to be continually trying to be better than each other. We often want to have and do better things than another. If not competing with someone else, we often push ourselves. It’s hard to just accept that the house is clean enough…the job has been done well (at work or home)…there is enough food…and so on.
Do we cry “give, give!” Give me recognition! Give me love! Give me hope! All these things have already been given to us by the Father through Jesus Christ. God recognizes when we’ve done a good job, even if no one else does. Jesus spoke of this in the Sermon on the Mount, “ But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:4) No one else needs to even see. The Bible is full of verses about God’s love for us. The most well known being, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” (John 3:16) And God is the source of hope. “Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2) He gives us everything we need.
Four things are listed that are never satisfied: death, a barren womb, thirst and fire.
Death is far more than the obvious. Death can be wrong expectations, criticism or any negatives that cause us to doubt our dreams and value. Be encouraged, Jesus’ death and resurrection defeated all death. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1Corinthians 15:55) His word brings life. His resurrection puts an end to the death of any God given dreams and calls on your life. We are to die to this world, but anything of God will remain. If a God given dream has seemingly died, resurrection day is coming. But, remember, Jesus looked different after His resurrection. Your dreams may look a little different than you had imagined.
A barren womb is very painful. I’ve had friends who have longed for a child, but month after month they have not conceived. I cannot begin to understand this pain, but I know it is intense. The barren womb can also be a place of unfulfilled and dashed hopes. There are many things that are “supposed to work out” according to our plans. But they don’t, or at least haven’t yet. This pain can also be very real and intense. When faced with a feeling of barrenness, whether longing for a child or a dream, consider Abraham and Sarah, whose bodies were “as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah’s [deadened] womb.” (Romans4:19b) God’s promises and calls have no expiration dates. Though the wait may be difficult and faith hard to find, God’s plan will come to pass. Contentment comes from holding on to hope and faith during the waiting time. We have a great promise, “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” (Galatians 6:9) Some promises may go well beyond their expected due date. Wait expectantly.
Thirst can be alleviated for a time, but is never truly quenched. We can be thirsty for what we think we need or want. Jesus spoke directly to thirst when he said “He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) For many years, Diet soda was my drink of choice. Along with the water I needed, were many chemicals and additives that actually contributed to health problems I was experiencing. Drinking water with little or no additives is the best thirst quencher. Do you thirst for anything besides God’s plan for you? Do you seek anything over trusting Jesus? These add-ons can bring sickness to your soul. You will not quench your thirst, but always crave more. Drink from the living water of clinging to Jesus and drink often.
Fire, that burning passion, will destroy everything in its path. Passion for the wrong things can burn others and it can burn us at the same time. We can be singed by running ahead of God or toward other things. Fire will always burn, so make sure it is the fire of a burning passion for God in our lives. We will be purified by God’s holy fire. “So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.” (1Peter 1:7) This increases our value as God’s servant. “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth [the material for] a vessel for the silversmith [to work up].” (Proverbs 25:4)
At the end of the movie, Aladdin found his value in what he truly was inside. He left behind his “street rat” image of himself and became the man and prince he meant to be. Things in life may come against us. We must know who we are and how faithful God is. This comes from knowing and believing what the Word says. God has said, “And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18)
Let the external trappings of this world fall away. Study and speak to God regularly. Seek to be the person God uniquely created you to be. When it appears there is not enough, remember, He is more than enough.
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