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Finding True Satisfaction in God

        In this article I would like to ultimately discuss the ways in which we can attain true satisfaction in life according to the word of God. First I will be discussing the many pitfalls, lies, and immoral ideals that have caused all of us to stumble at one point or another in our lives. This way we can identify our personal weaknesses among these problems and address them according to God's word. For some of us it may be the pursuit of material possessions, while for others it may be the love of pleasure for example. In any case we need to remember that God has a better plan for us than to fall into temptations such as these.

        I believe many of us have been led astray and have fallen into the traps that the devil has sneakily placed in our lives. Many of us believe that a lifestyle which seeks instant-gratification over discipline and careful planning, pleasure in sin over delight in obeying God's word, material possessions rather than heavenly treasures, and accomplishing our own selfish pursuits instead of serving God are just a few of the many ways to happiness and satisfaction. The truth is these lies are a dime a dozen and I am sure I have not even scratched the surface of the many misleading paths that are out there. In fact the Bible tell us that narrow is the gate and difficult the path that leads to heaven, while wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction. (See V*1).

        These two verses in Matthew let us know that we should enter through the narrow gate, but they also warn us that the path is difficult to follow. It may not be the easy road in other words, but God makes it more than worthwhile for us to aspire to it. This clearly illustrates that it is much easier to go through the wide and broad road that leads to destruction, and unfortunately there are many people that follow it over obeying God. Some people seem to be unable to humble themselves before our Creator or have too much pride in themselves. This is not an excuse, and the Bible warns us of the magnitude of a mistake that pride in oneself really is. (See V*2). Others may not get the opportunity to hear the word of God in their lifetime, and hence never officially accepted Jesus Christ. I sincerely believe that people like this, however, will be judged according to a less strict standard than we who have a direct opportunity to accept Jesus and are capable of serving Him throughout our lives.

        We are constantly being bombarded with false ideas and loose morals that are perpetuated by different venues and media such as: the friends we choose to associate with, the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the magazines we read, and the list goes on and on. These venues and media want to make sinful behavior out to be the standard and perfectly normal thing to do. Different lies such as premarital sex being perfectly acceptable, little "white" lies being okay, and other dangerous habits. The Bible on the other hand stresses the importance of avoiding these predicaments. I try not to judge people harshly for I know that I am far from perfect and fall into these traps myself from time to time, but the truth is these issues are big problems. (See V*3). V*3 goes along with this stance, it informs us that it is important not to judge one another harshly, and implies that we all fall into similar traps from time to time. We should help each other overcome these shortcomings rather than always focus on the things we do wrong. Honestly many of these sources (media and other venues) that I mentioned may not even mean to do you any harm in most cases, they just do not know better and probably aren't in tune with God's word on the matter at hand.

        It is no wonder why many of us wander around like lost sheep, looking for more and more of the wrong things that are supposed to make us happy. The sad and absolutely true reality is that when we take away our focus away from God and instead focus on the superficialities of life, in our minds we will never have enough possessions, we will never have enough money, we will never have enough pleasure, and we would continue to lead mediocre, unhappy lives rather than the life God truly envisions for each and every one of us to have. It is up to you to make that choice of where to draw the line, because the Bible is crystal clear in it's instruction. We are instructed, among other things, to flee youthful lusts. (See V*4). It is our choice whether we choose to heed this advice or not, but in either case we need to be willing to accept the consequences of our behavior.

        Now that we've gone over what we may mistakenly pursue for satisfaction and happiness, we can shift our focus to the true areas of satisfaction and happiness that God wants us to attain. I believe that true satisfaction can be achieved through a combination of pursuits, including but not limited to: diligently accomplishing God's will, overcoming the strongholds of sin in our lives, seeking true justice, being grateful and not taking all our blessings for granted, and most importantly putting God in the first priority slot of our lives. (See V*5).

        Finally, we can review some of the pursuits that God actually says are worthy of our time, effort, and energy. The first one I mentioned is diligently accomplishing God's will. I think that the attribute of diligence is vital to incorporate in our daily lives. (See Article #2 Attribute and Attitude Assessment). God's word tells us in a variety of places how important diligence truly is, and more specifically how important it is to apply in Godly pursuits. (See V*6and V*7). In V*6 we are told to "make every effort" to supplement our faith with all these Godly pursuits mentioned after it, in other words we are instructed to be diligent in acquiring all these attributes. V*7 first reminds us that God loves justice and how He considers what we do in His name for other believers like us [His saints]. It also talks about the diligence that he wants us to demonstrate so that we will act on faith and persevere until we realize God's promises.

        I think overcoming the strongholds of sin in our lives and seeking true justice (See Article #6 Life is not fair, but God loves justice) should be amongst our greatest priorities in life. (See V*8). By demolish arguments, and taking thoughts captive in obedience to Jesus Christ we see that we eliminate many of the strongholds of sin that come about in our lives. The ideal would be for us not to even allow the devil to make any such sin a stronghold, and that should be one of our primary objectives.

        A grateful attitude towards the many things we take for granted today is an essential element to achieving true happiness and satisfaction as well. We may or may not have the most expensive car, the biggest house, or the greenest lawn in the world, but lets take a look at what we do have. Many of us have countless opportunities and blessings to be thankful for. God provides us with food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, an amazing brain that can think and reason, and most important an opportunity to spend eternity with Him in heaven as long as we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We should all be in a state of gratitude daily and thank God for all His blessings upon our lives in prayer consistently. (See V*9).

        This of course all doesn't mean we need to be perfect. In fact we all fall short of Jesus Christ's perfection, but theres absolutely nothing wrong with trying to pursue a Christ-like lifestyle. We all tend to stumble from time to time, but as long as we acknowledge our sins to God in prayer, He will take away any guilt associated with it and separate us from our sin so that as far as the east is from the west so our sins will be from us. (See V*10 and V*11). I think the take home message is this: we need to always remember to keep God in first place in our lives, so that everything else falls into place. I truly believe that this occurs when we submit to His will and put Him first.

        I would like to close with the following verse, which I think really accentuates, confirms, and better states what I have laid out in this article. Hopefully we can all aspire to live a life like this worthy of praise:

V*12- "Let us walk with decency, as in the daylight: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no plans to satisfy the fleshly desires."
Romans 13:13-14 (HCSB)

May God help you find and walk the straight, narrow path that leads to heaven and help you discover true satisfaction and happiness in life in the process.

-Victor Nunez

Biblical References:

V*1- "Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it." Matthew 7:13-14 (HCSB)

V*2- "Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (HCSB)

V*3- "Do not judge, so that you won't be judged. 2 For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2 (HCSB)

V*4- "Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22 (HCSB)

V*5- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (HCSB)

V*6- 'For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 2 Peter 1:5 (HCSB)

V*7- "For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you showed for His name when you served the saints- and you continue to serve them. 11 Now we want each of you to demonstrate the same diligence for the final realization of your hope, 12 so that you won't become lazy, but imitators of those who inherit the promises through faith and perseverance." Hebrew 6:10-12 (HCSB)

V*8- 'since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 6 And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience is complete. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (HCSB)

V*9- "Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 (HCSB)

V*10- "Then I acknowledge my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You took away the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5 (HCSB)

V*11- "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 (HCSB)

V*12- Located in the text.

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