Jesus is Our Security and Satisfaction
Loving relationships, comfortable circumstances, and possessions are gifts meant to be enjoyed, but not meant to become our security and satisfaction in life.
One of my Polish friends sends emails to me a couple times each week. Writing in English is challenging for her, so she keeps her messages short.
Her last email said simply, “Psalm 4:7-8.”
My friend loves Jesus with all her heart, and she’s a valiant prayer warrior. Whenever she sends me a Bible reference, I look it up and listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice. What might He be telling me through this earthly messenger?
Psalm 4:7-8 says,
“You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.”
A sense of well-being
In the past two weeks I’ve thought often about what brings me satisfaction and a sense of security or well-being.
My list includes time with family and friends, daily routines (ie: rising early to workout at the gym, enjoying quiet time and morning coffee, ending the day by sitting for an hour or so beside my hubby on our recliner loveseat), an outside space in which to write, access to an abundance of fresh summer fruits and veggies, using the beautiful Polish pottery mugs and plates I’ve collected over the past decade, and even having a comfortable mattress on which to sleep.
Gifts from God
Every good and perfect gift comes from God, and I count the above as gifts from His hand. I’m grateful for each one. Would I feel as grateful if He asked me to do something new that meant giving up some or all of them?
I recall the years I lived in a mud house in Nepal—no electricity, no running water, no indoor plumbing. I bathed in a basin on the floor, washed clothes in an irrigation ditch that trickled nearby, and cooked three meals a day on a kerosene camping stove.
Life was tough, and culture shock significant, but God used that “stripping away” season to teach me reliance on Him. It’s a season I’d gladly redo so I could once again experience Him as I did then.
Loving relationships, comfortable circumstances, and material possessions are good gifts meant to be enjoyed, but they’re not meant to become the source of our security and satisfaction in life.
Only Jesus deserves that role. I can see, though, how I’d find it difficult to let go of the things on my list if He gave me a new assignment that required doing so.
Psalm 4:7-8 tells us that the Lord offers true security and brings unequaled joy. He is enough. He truly is.
How about you?
Would you find it difficult to give up those things on your list if the Lord asked you to do so?
Know you are loved,
Grace
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