Fully Satisfied in God?

As I start writing this post, some of the lyrics to two of Israel Houghton's songs come to mind. The first is from the song "Your presence is heaven to me" which starts off with this: "nothing in this world can satisfy but Jesus you're the cup that won't run dry". The second is from the song "more" which lyrics begin with: "all we want and all we need is found in Jesus". The summary of these two songs is that it's only God who can truly satisfy us. And how do we know this? You prayed to God so hard for that job and now you have it but you're still not really fulfilled/happy. You prayed to God so hard to bring that man/woman into your life and now they're there but you still complain. You prayed to God so hard to get into that school and now you're there but you're fed up and can't wait to graduate...and the examples could go on. All these just show that nothing/nobody in this world can completely satisfy us. Even the economists attest to this fact that "human wants are insatiable" so this is why we must learn to be fully satisfied in God. So how can we learn to be satisfied in Him?

1. Develop an attitude of gratitude: A popular saying goes "It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people that are happy". Learn to thank God for life; sleeping and waking up is a blessing. Learn to thank God for the little things we take for granted like being able to see, walk, talk, eat, etc. Learn to thank God for the people in your life; for the annoying sibling, the overprotective guardian/parent, the friend who has always been there for you. Thank God for even the people who walked out of your life; they've sure opened your eyes to some new lessons in 

life. When you get up each morning, just make a habit of saying 

thank you to God for at least one thing. Doing this would not only make you happier but would also bring God pleasure since this is His will for us (1Thessalonians 5:18).

2. Trust God: Life would throw lemons at us from time to time but it's up to us to decide whether to make lemonade or throw a pity party for getting hit.One life lesson I recently learned from a book is this: I may not have control over some things that happen to me in life but I do have control over my reaction/attitude in every situation . In other words, no matter what happens to us in life, we must learn to trust that God knows best and that He will make everything work out for our good (Romans 8:28). Nothing that happens to us in life goes unnoticed by God, He already knew what each day in our lives would be like before we were born (Psalms 139:16). And Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has great plans for our lives so let's not allow any challenge we face in life weigh us down. Rather than focus on the problem, let's focus on the One who is greater than the problem. God never promised that life would be easy but He has promised to always be with us and see us through.

3. Don't compare yourself to others: This is one thing most of us are guilty of. You're scrolling through your Instagram and you see that girl X just got engaged and you think to yourself "she's not even half as fine as I am or half the wifey material that I am and yet she has a man" or you see guy Y who is the biggest party monster, isn't even that smart and doesn't even care much about God yet he just got a job with a Fortune 500 company while you who worked so hard in school and loves God so 

much still can't get a job. When you see things like this, life just seems so unfair and you sometimes just want to question God. But a few things we must remember is that everyone's life story is different and that our lives are in seasons. So don't compare the winter season you're in to someone else's spring/summer because 1) this is just bad measurement, it's like comparing apples to oranges 2) seasons are temporary. Here are a few tips for dealing with comparison:

I) Limit the amount of time you spend on social media. Social media is one of the biggest sources of comparison and envy in this generation. Too many "goals" are being set: relationship goals, body goals, best friend goals, hair goals....,mehn just set your own goals and don't be unduly influenced.

II) Be happy for the people who are happy (Romans 12:15) and pray for God to keep blessing them. You'll be surprised to see how this works 

III) Be content with what you have. Like Paul, we must "learn to be content regardless of our circumstance" (Philippians 4:11) and this all boils down to being grateful each day.

May God help us to be fully satisfied in Him and may we always be reminded that all we want and need is found in Jesus because He is the cup that would never run dry!