Are you exhausted? Are you tired of putting the utmost effort into things only to find you still come up empty handed? Is your heart breaking because the story you’d written out for yourself has been anything but what you thought it should be?
Me too.
Why do we continuously chase after things that we know will not satisfy? Why do we place so much emphasis on things that ultimately lack value? Why do we seek perfection when it can’t be found? Why do we place unrealistic standards on our relationships, seeking to be fulfilled in a way that only the Lord can supply?
King Solomon says, “I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless--like chasing the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Yes…a king said this. He recognized that the world with all of its desires and offerings will not satisfy our hearts.
Can you imagine spending your time chasing the wind? For one, you’d look insane. And two, your efforts would be futile and would ultimately lack purpose.
When our hearts are chasing after the things of the world, it’s as if we are spending our time chasing the wind – it’s time-consuming, insane, and pointless.
We need to come to terms with the fact that nothing in this world is going to satisfy our hearts. We were created to be completed by One thing…and that One thing is Jesus.
So why do place such high expectations on the things and people around us if we know they aren’t going to be able to fill the Jesus-shaped void that is within each of us?
It’s time for us to expect less from the world, and expect more from Jesus because guess what? He can handle it. He is an overflowing well of overwhelming love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we are weak, He is strong.
Our hearts are yearning to be accepted, yearning to be worthy of pursuit, yearning to be reassured, yearning to be affirmed…but only Jesus can meet these yearnings and supply us with a confidence that allows us to be in the world, but not of the world.
So with this mindset, let’s stop chasing the world with its short-term gratification and allow our hearts to chase after the One thing that satisfies, the One thing that remains constant, the One thing that gives no matter how much we take…and that’s the heart of the One who died to meet our needs and to give us grace, hope, mercy, and love in our brightest and even our darkest moments.
And by this grace, hope, mercy, and love, let’s extend our hands to touch the lives of the people around us, allowing them to see that our souls have found freedom in the One that satisfies. Let’s allow Jesus to be the voice that defines us, the voice that reassures us, the voice that refills us, and the voice that writes our story, trusting that He is a better author. Let’s surrender our lives to the One that makes beautiful things out of our brokenness.
