Satisfaction, Guaranteed

Photo by @tha_realjordan

It is a bold claim to guarantee satisfaction. In fact, it is so bold that you rarely see a company advertising blanket satisfaction. The statement is typically followed by a disclaimer. It is difficult to live up to a satisfaction guarantee because we, as humans, are insatiable.

I sometimes wonder why it seems like regardless of what I do, I seem to be discontent. I want more out of my career. I want more out of myself. I want more out of others. Sometimes, I even want more out of God.

The interesting thing is that I  do get more. I get more out of myself when I push my limits. I get more out of others when I communicate my expectations. And there is no doubt that God continues to bless me as I walk through life. So why is it that I still feel that I need something?

It’s in our nature, we always want more. The main reason for this is that we believe that the things of this world – self, relationships, and careers – will ultimately satisfy us. We’re thirsty for more and are drawing our water from an earthly well and expecting to be fulfilled. When Jesus met with the women at the well he told her “everyone who drinks from this well will thirst again” (John 4:13). Essentially, if we are seeking satisfaction from society’s well of success, we will always be coming back for more.

Jesus goes on to say that “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14). It’s important to know that God intentionally designed us with a seemingly insatiable desire for more. It is a desire that only he can fill.

I used to think that once I accepted Christ into my heart that I would always be good. That my desires would be met by God and that I would never go through periods of feeling inadequate, thirsty, or wanting more. The truth is I feel inadequate often. I continue to desire more. Lately, I’ve been questioning my motives. What’s driving the pursuit of my goals? I can honestly say that I am using an earthly measure of success and expecting God to deliver on it. I have not asked God to align my desires with His will, in fact, I’m asking that He align his will with my desires.

I say all of this to say that sometimes we experience a spiritual dehydration. Amidst that spiritual dehydration, it is easy to return to an earthly well to quench our thirst. We’ll seek affirmation in our career. We’ll expect friends or significant others to pick us up because we’re down. We might return to bad habits that have proven satisfying in the past. While each of these scenarios might not be detrimental if you put them in a silo, the harm comes when we pursue these things with the same expectation of satisfaction that comes from the Living Water. Our motivation to relentlessly pursue more must align with what God has for us. It’s OK to want more, but whatever your “more” is, make sure it is coming from God; after all satisfaction in Him is the only guarantee.