Tag Archives: meaning of life

Victorious Living

Discovery While Desperately Seeking

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My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

Psalm 63:5  (NKJ)

Our series, Desperately Seeking, has focused on what people frantically pursue yet never seem to acquire.  It is in pursuing worldly counterfeits that a vicious circle of dissatisfaction and discontentment is created.  While these imitations may promise well-being and contentment, they can never deliver on their promises.  So what did we discover while desperately seeking?

The first thing we discovered was that we were desperately seeking in the wrong place.   Identifying with society, men seek to satisfy their heart’s desires with “tangibles”.  Yet each day the tabloids are full of stories of people who by the world’s standard “have it all”, yet still are searching for contentment and peace of mind.  It is in the “intangibles” that true satisfaction can be found.  King Solomon explains the reason for this disconnect in Ecclesiastes 3:11.  It is a matter of the heart: “He (God) has planted eternity in the human heart.”  Created in His image, God has made us restless for that which transcends this world.  It can only be provided by our Transcendent Creator.

Secondly, we discovered that we were desperately seeking the wrong thing.  Matthew 6:33 reminds us of a foundational teaching from Jesus:  “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.  Jesus’ invitation to righteousness was an invitation to a new way of living—Kingdom Living.  Believers are to prioritize and focus on those things which further the Kingdom of God and not their personal agenda.

The Message paraphrase for this text reinforces this understanding:  “Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, and God-provision.  Don’t worry about missing out.  You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.”

Finally, we discovered that we were desperately seeking for the wrong reasons.  Unfortunately many of us believe our life belongs only to us and we can do whatever we want with it.  For some reason, we believe that our sole purpose in life is to be “happy.”  That is the worldview of purposeful living.

However, for believers, Jesus is the model we are to follow if we are to understand our purpose in life (Eph. 2:10) and our role as citizens of God’s kingdom (Phil. 3:20-21).  In John 6:38, Jesus clearly articulates His purpose and His role:  “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.”  We are to seek to do the will of God wherever it may lead us.

So what have we discovered in our desperate search?  As new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), we are to no longer live the rest of our time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God (1 Pet. 4:2).  It is in Him that we live, and move, and have our meaning (Act 17:28).   We no longer need to “desperately seek” for we have found in God more than we can ever hope for.  Only God can satisfy those desperately seeking because God is the only True Source of Satisfaction.

Victorious Living

Satisfying Restless Hearts

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God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

He has planted eternity in the human heart,

but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

In what is now becoming an endangered means of communications, the newspaper offers a service known as classified ads.  The “classified’ allows individuals to list requests for particular services or products they want.   If you were to purchase a classified ad, with regard to “desperately seeking”, what would you request?  What is the motivation behind your request?

Motivation is the force that initiates, guides, and maintains behaviors. It is what causes us to take action.  The forces that lie beneath our motivation can be biological, social, emotional, or intellectual in nature. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, one of the best-known theories of motivation, states that our actions are motivated in order to achieve certain needs ranging from basic needs for survival to the highest level of motivation dealing with self-esteem and the need to be “all one can be.”

How does this theory of motivation square with the biblical explanations for our “seeking” behavior?  The Words of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes (Solomon) gives us the answer.  In Ecclesiastes, Solomon is desperately seeking what is the true source of meaning and happiness in life.  Much like those in last week’s WordBytes, he is seeking those things he “can’t seem to get”.

Solomon investigates those things which his “lusts” have directed him to pursue:  pleasure-seeking (2:1-11), wisdom (2:12-17), and labor for reward (2:18-6:9).  In the process of his search, God slowly reveals the explanation for Solomon’s restlessness.  God’s revelation begins in Ecclesiastes 3:11:  “He (God) has planted eternity in the human heart.”  God made men for His eternal purpose, and nothing in this fallen world can bring men complete satisfaction.  I visualize this fact in the picture of the heart with a missing piece exposed to the world.

Many times we pursue counterfeits instead of God—the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16)—thinking they will satisfy our deepest needs.  This pursuit, unfortunately, can prove to be a dangerous path to follow.  We witness the lives of celebrities and social icons whose needs have been met through fame, fortune, and influence yet still voice dissatisfaction with their life.  Many have fallen victim to addictive activities, broken relationships, and suicidal behavior.

Can you image driving your car without an engine?  You put new wheels on it but it won’t go.  You park it in the best garage money can buy yet it still won’t move.  It can’t go!  It cannot accomplish its purpose without an engine.  God created us for His specific purpose that includes a personal relationship (not religion) with Him (Is. 43:21; Eph. 2:10).   It is in daily discovering God’s unique purpose for our life that we find meaning, satisfaction, and contentment.

God is the missing piece in the life of those who are desperately seeking. God is the critical, life-giving piece.  In Him, we live and move and have our meaning (Acts 17:28).  The restless heart can only find satisfaction in God.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430), like Solomon, offered a “faith nugget” for the desperately seeking heart.

Thou hast made us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.

Now that we have THE ANSWER for those who are desperately seeking, we will focus the remainder of our series on the specifics of how God satisfies the desperately seeking heart.  Please share this devotional with friends and family.  Also let us know what you think of the series by writing your comments below—we’d love to hear from you.

Victorious Living

Life Lived Desperately Seeking

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What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone?

Ecclesiastes 1:3 (The Message)

I recently read an article entitled The Top 10 Things People Want in Life but Can’t Seem to Get.  I was amazed in reading the responses to this informal survey that probed a number of “critical life and career questions.”  This further piqued my curiosity leading me to find other “lists” of how individuals might feel about their current lives.

As I read the various articles, the words “desperately seeking” came to mind.  Therein was the birthing of this new series entitled, Desperately Seeking.  During this series, I’ll be using three (3) lenses to examine the real issues behind our desperate search for the things we feel will make our lives better.  They include:  (1) the current situation, (2) the worldview, and (3) God’s view.  As you follow with me, it is my hope that you will better understand God’s plan for your life and be able to quickly extinguish any desperation you might currently be experiencing.  Let me begin by sharing the current situation.

Desperation is defined as a state of despair or distress, typically one that results in rash or extreme behavior—even reckless or dangerous. Desperation is sometimes described as hopelessness.  How would you describe the world today?  You need only look at your phone, notebook, or other source of information to experience the alarming state of our world.

As we view the larger global issues of this nation and world, it is evident that the current political, social, and financial climate cannot be resolved through traditional methods or approaches.  Our hope that technology would offer the panacea to all our problems is daily being dashed as it presents its own set of “new problems” in the form of ethical dilemmas, moral failures, and social shortfalls.  Tricia McCary Rhodes in her book, The Wired Soul, captures this feeling of distress.

I am not personally prone to panic attacks, but these days there are moments when I find myself out of sorts, almost as if I can’t quite catch my breath. I don’t think I’m alone in this. People of all ages seem terminally distracted, perpetually hurried, and often harried.  It is rare for an answer to the question “how are you?” not to include the word busy and elicit some degree of angst. Collectively it feels as if we are losing something important in the name of progress, as if life itself is slipping through our fingers.

But the real challenge of desperation comes, not only globally, but “up close and personal”.   It comes as individuals look in the mirror and ask, “What about those things that I want in life but can’t seem to get?”  From my reading, I compiled (in their order of importance) the top five (5) areas people are feeling desperate about:  happiness, money, freedom, peace, and joy.   I’ve included a sixth, since it seems the focus of many Millennials and Gen xers—balance.

Examination of this list resulted in the following observations.  What’s surprising are the things missing from the list.

1)  The list contains more intangibles that tangibles (money).  Why?

2)  The list is more subjective (what I can feel) than objective.  Why?

3)  The list focuses on “internal” versus “external”.  Why?

What can be said about a “life lived desperately seeking”?  Why are we desperate?  What’s missing in our lives and why can’t we get it?  Join us as we “desperately seek” answers to these and other questions.  Please share this devotional with your friends who might be feeling desperate.  Feel free to share your thoughts on this new series  in the “Comments Box” at the bottom of this page.