This weekend I had the privilege of participating in our church’s women’s conference. It was a fabulous Friday night and Saturday morning filled with teaching from Vicki Courtney (who I now want to by my new BFF). We spent the weekend discussing the why-not and how-to of being satisfied in Christ.
As women, even Christ-chasing women, living in the crazy world, we have to look for satisfaction in the right places or we can make a huge mess of things. I think we know that we SHOULD BE looking for our satisfaction in Christ alone, but we sometimes can’t recognize and identify those places where we are looking to other gods to fulfill us. I dare say there is not a true follower of Christ out there who willingly seeks satisfaction in other gods, but yet it can happen so easily.
John 10:10 tells us that Christ came that we might have life and have it in abundance or have it in a way that satisfies. He wants us to be satisfied, but He wants that satisfaction to come from Him. Our worldly relationships are a precious gift from God, but they weren’t designed to be the source of satisfaction. Only Jesus Himself can meet our needs with such extravagance that we feel completely fulfilled, full of purpose, and sated.
Many of us (me included) have looked for significance in our relationships with our husbands, the beauty of our homes, and how well our children behave. We pride ourselves on our work achievements or the accomplishments of our children. If we have a long list of friends who enjoy our company and respect our wisdom and opinions, then we must be important, right? We forget that our worth comes from the fact that God created us in His image and redeemed us with the blood of His dear Son. He took us from a life of emptiness into a life of abundance. We were once lost and now are found. We were dead in our sin, and He gave us life through His atonement. THAT is the source of our true satisfaction.
Maybe your list of false gods looks different than mine. I encourage you to take a deep look and pray that God would reveal to you the places you are seeking fulfillment other than in Him. And when He does show you those areas, be quick and faithful to re-direct your affection to Him in that area. Listen, as busy moms, we have distractions all day long that will keep us from abiding in Him. But when we can learn to stay plugged into Him as the source of our satisfaction, we won’t burden other people with that role and the work He gives us to do will be accomplished with the proper perspective.
I’d love to say that once we hear this truth, we will follow it without fail the rest of our days. But that simply isn’t true. Satan is crafty and is always at work to steer our affections away from our First Love. As long as we serve Christ on this earth, we will have to occasionally take stock of where we stand with Him and make adjustments to stay on track. Don’t be discouraged when you find that you have once again looked for satisfaction in the world. Just confess it to God, repent of it, and get your heart right again.
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