“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” – C.S. Lewis
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” – Saint Augustine
We were all born with a unquenchable thirst, an insatiable appetite.
We all desired something that could appease our self-esteem and bring safety and security and satisfaction.
We were born thirsty, and so we began to drink from the cup the world provided. We drowned ourselves in the temporary pleasures of life, gorging ourselves on sex, money, fame, success, drinking ourselves drunk on shifting shadows.
We lost our minds, our desires, our happiness to the fleeting pleasures of this life, working for grades and people and green pieces of paper that could never truly fill the gaping hole within our hearts.
The more we drank, the more we felt the emptiness inside and continued drinking, consuming the world’s food to conceal our growing hunger. At the same time, our appetite changed, complied, conformed, until all we wanted, all we desired were these temporary pleasures.
We began to lose our taste for the supernatural, in the same way a Starbucks-only coffee drinker can never truly appreciate anything else. Our taste became cheapened by the trinkets of earth. We indulged ourselves in these corporeal amusements, looking only to the world for a satisfaction it could not provide.
The truth is, we fell for trash.
And we still do. In our limited vision, we fail to keep in mind the eternal weight of glory that awaits and run after carnal pleasures. We trade away the spiritual blessings God provides and the comfort and strength that come from heaven for the gaudy baubles of this earth.
We fall head over heels for little pleasures that keep us entertained one second and leave us ravenous for more.
I am so guilty of pursuing soap bubbles. So often I lose sight of God’s amazing grace and look to people for security, grades and plastic trophies for satisfaction. And while temporarily these things hold up under my weight and dependence, eventually they give in. Over the last few months, I’ve realized that all too often, I place my hope and security and joy on these temporary things.
I try to find rest and satisfaction in what this world provides, instead of looking to the only One who can satisfy the ache within.
King Solomon had it all. He had fame, wealth, success, women. He had everything the world could offer at his command, and yet he realized that life was empty without God.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon describes the futile pursuit of worldly pleasures. His search to find happiness and fulfillment in the world resulted in vanity, and he was left thirsty, restless, desperate. He was a man who had pursued soap bubbles and found them lacking.
Yet, at the end of the book, Solomon cries out a warning to remember our Creator, to fear God and keep His commandments. Though he experienced everything this world could offer, Solomon understood satisfaction and security come from heaven and a healthy fear of the Lord, not from temporary pleasures.
Christ has not just left us restless and searching.
Though this world can never truly quench our thirst, there is a Fountain overflowing with living water that we are invited to partake. A Fountain that can wash away our sins and satisfy our longings once and for all in its springs of living water.
I guess that’s why God created our thirst in the first place, so our search for fulfillment can eventually lead us to Him.
He made us thirsty to point us heavenward in order that on earth, we can not only enjoy that Fountain, but also share that living water with others. To pour out the blessings of His grace and point others to Christ for satisfaction and security.
Not only do we have this hope here on earth, but we also have the hope of heaven, where we will no longer feel like aliens and pilgrims on a journey, but where we will finally be home.
That quote from C.S. Lewis sums this up perfectly. This world cannot satisfy our desires, because quite frankly, this world is not our home. We were created for another world, and nothing on earth can ever bring complete fulfillment.
Yet this desperate search for water directs our gaze upwards to a place of physical, emotional, and spiritual satisfaction. We were created for the supernatural, and while the carnal cannot satisfy, the eternal can.
This world is full of mirages, and we run to shimmering shadows of water but find them deceiving. We are weary, weary in our unending search for fulfillment, weary in running after soap bubbles. Yet Christ invites us to drink at His feet, to drink and drink our fill in the presences of His grace and lovingkindness.
The choice is up to us.
Share Your Thoughts in the Comment Section!
There are currently 4 Comment(s)
There are currently 4 Comment(s)
Great article!
I was just thinking about the fact that every time I feel lonely I turn to worldly entertainment to drive that loneliness away, instead of turning to God for Him to fill my soul. What you just said really made me open my eyes. Even though I have heard this all my life it’s great to have others remind me of it 🙂
Thanks for sharing! God bless..
Absolutely beautiful article! I, too, have discovered this in my life. Nothing satisfies. Everything leaves you emptier than before. Thank you for taking the time to write this. It is something I constantly need to be reminded of when I’m tempted to pursue my fleshly desires. And by the way, I love your writing style. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Woah, great analogy! Thanks for writing! =)
Beautiful truth that is so easily forgotten (guilty…) that is so beautifully written 🙂
Wow, lovely article! So often we do just force our desires to turn into desires for worldly things, instead of God. I love Lewis; I think you explained his and Augustine’s quotes extremely well! Thank you for this reminder!
Thanks for the article! I LOVE this quote by CS Lewis and I love how you explained it!
Beautifully written! Thank you for sharing. We all need this constant reminder of the Truth.
This article really goes well with the article on failures. Well written, and you’re right, nothing in this world satisfies, but Christ does. 🙂
Thank you for this article!! u needed to read this today!
Great article! Great analysis and beautifully written. I was thinking just last night as I was driving home from a bonfire with friends about the things in life that make me happy (specifically I was thinking about friendship), and I was thinking about the reality that the only joy the world can give ultimately comes from God (i.e. friendship and relationships). This article totally connected with what I was reflecting on!
Hey, totally off topic, but are you the Amanda Chang who was TP partners with Rachel Donka this year in Stoa and NCFCA? If so, hello from another S&D competitor!
Thank you so much! Yes, I definitely agree with your comments. I know I put so much weight on my friends and relationships and what others think of me too.
Mhm, yes, I was partnered with Rachel last year! (: Do you compete in both leagues as well? That’s so neat!
Actually, I only compete in NCFCA, but being in R2 I have a lot of friends that do Stoa as well so I keep track of the happenings in both leagues, and I recall you competing at the Olympic Qualifier (which my club hosts).
Ohh okay that’s really cool! Sometimes it feels like such a small world (:
Great job Amanda! This is something I’m being reminded of over and over, I’m a person who can be prone to depression and have struggled with several addictions and every time I come out of something I realize how empty everything I’m chasing after is and how my Father is the only one who can fulfill my desires and my needs to be loved and chosen, He is the Living Water and the only One who can love me perfectly!
Thanks so much! I struggled with depression a while ago as well, and to me it was easy to search for security in other people or in my circumstances or my achievements, and when those things failed, I would feel discouraged or down. When I think back on those times, I realize that many of those problems stemmed from not seeing God as truly valuable or as the One who could fill me emotionally and spiritually. Thanks so much for sharing! We have such an awesome God who loves us in our weaknesses (:
Beautiful job, Amanda. This came at a really good time for me. I’ve been feeling a bit empty, as of late. Ya know, craving things that leave me unsatisfied. It’s crazy how fast I lose sight of the only who’s One really, truly important and fulfilling. Thank you 🙂
Oh! And don’t EVER stop writing for Jesus! You are very good at it 🙂
Thanks so much! I’m really grateful that something small God taught me was able to encourage others as well (: It’s so easy to find satisfaction in other people or tangible achievements, and I know it really breaks God’s heart when we’re not seeking after Him as the primary treasure in our lives. Thanks guys for all your encouraging comments!! (:
Beautiful job.
Go girl! You hit the nail right on the head! And that is exactly what I’ve been thinking about lately–having an eternal perspective, like Randy Alcorn says. You should write on here more often!
So true Amanda, by the way, I love those quotes!
Thanks for a really beautiful article. So true.
This is true. I like your example of the soap bubbles. So often we chase after things that we know will fade away at some point in time. But we still go for those things. You are correct in saying that God have us desires. We just look in all the wrong places.
The choice indeed is up to us!
Thanks for writing! Awesome post!
Love it!
I once heard someone talk about the longing you spoke about. This is how they described it.
Each person’s heart is like a jigsaw puzzle that is missing a piece. We are left with a “hole” in our hearts that is God-shaped, and only God can fill it.
Unfortunately, we try to fill this “hole” with all sorts of worldly things, which sort of work for a while, but always leave us with a unfulfilled feeling afterwards, often worse than before. We then try to fill this “hole” with something else, and the same feeling comes back again. We try again and again, failing miserably each time, and wonder what’s wrong. The only way to break the cycle is to ask God to fill the “hole”. Only then can we be entirely fulfilled and satisfied.
Thank you so much for writing this post – I really enjoyed it! 🙂
That is written so well and truthfully.
”Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.“
Colossians 3:2 NLT