10 Things You Need to Do If You Want to Be Satisfied

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Are you satisfied?

Especially right now, when we’re not doing so many of the things we’re used to doing. No matter how hard we try … we just can’t seem to find satisfaction.

So, I wonder…

Are you satisfied?

The dictionary defines being satisfied as being content or having peace. Does that help?

Are you contented? Are you experiencing peace?

I’ve been thinking about the day of Jesus’ resurrection … picturing the disciples locked in the upper room. For hours after Mary, Peter, and John had proclaimed Him alive, they remained confined (quarantined if you will), hidden away from the rest of the world.

Questioning. Uncertain. Afraid. Wondering. Hopeful.

Sound familiar? Can you relate to what they were experiencing?

The thing is … it doesn’t sound like satisfaction, does it?

And Jesus’s said…

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

John 10:10

And I wonder, have we bought into the “thief’s” lies … that we need more than Jesus to give us everything we need.

Kyle Idleman told a story in the book, Not a Fan Daily Devotional.

His four-year-old daughter wanted a pet. He said it had to be something that didn’t bark, meow, or make any kind of noise. It couldn’t shed and had to cost less than five dollars.

They decided on a goldfish and named it Nemo.

From here … I’m going to quote him…

She wanted to play with her new pet, but how do you play with a fish? You can’t take it for a walk or teach it to fetch. But you can take it swimming. So we took a trip to the swimming pool. I explained to my daughter that the chemicals in the pool would not be good for a fish, so we brought Nemo in a glass cup filled with water and set the cup on the very edge of the pool. While my daughter and I were splashing in the water, I noticed that Nemo was watching us. I figured he wanted to get out of the cup and into the vast ocean that the swimming pool must have looked like to him.

After a few minutes, I looked over again to check on Nemo, but the cup was empty. Apparently the lure of freedom on the high seas was so strong that Nemo had flip-flopped out of the cup and into the pool. I tried to catch him, but catching a goldfish in a swimming pool is more difficult than you might think. Eventually, Nemo rose to the surface, belly up…

I wonder how often the lure of “freedom” robs me of my satisfaction. I wonder how often I look past the “rich and satisfying life” Jesus wants for me because I let my mind entertain the “thief’s” temptations and deceptions.

The disciples waited with questions through the days and weeks following Jesus’ resurrection. We don’t know the exact amount of time Jesus actually spent with His followers during those 40 days between the resurrection and ascension. We do know He told them to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came … and that meant waiting for another 10 days.

50 days of waiting and wondering.

How satisfied were they?

Like us, they knew Jesus’ teachings about being satisfied…

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

Matthew 5:6 (NET)

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35

“Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.”

Matthew 6:33 (NCV)

Like us, they knew that Jesus had conquered death…

I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

John 14:3b–4

It is my Father’s will that all who see His Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

John 6:40

I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and He has granted that same life-giving power to His Son. And He has given Him authority to judge everyone because He is the Son of Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son,  and they will rise again.

John 5:25–29a

He had proven it with Lazarus and with His own resurrection and He promised it to His followers.

And I believe that’s the secret to a satisfied life.

That you and I trust God to give us everything we need today … knowing that because of Jesus our eternal future is secure as well.

Whether we’re closed up in our homes or living life with calendars full of activities and provision. Whether we have a little or a lot. Whether we’re in perfect or poor health. Whether our relationships are thriving or fragile. Whatever our circumstances being truly satisfied is a blessing we choose when we surrender our lives to Christ Jesus.

We recently received a prayer on the Blessing Counters Prayer Page…

I can’t call it a request because she didn’t ask for prayer … she simply shared her own personal testimony through prayer and it was beautiful. Even through the pain, she is choosing to place her hope in Christ Jesus trusting in His strength to give her everything she needs.

When you and I hear someone testify to being satisfied through terminal illness or the death of a loved one, when they are satisfied through pain and heartbreak, or through waiting and uncertainty … it is always the power of Christ in their lives.

I promised in the title that I would share 10 things you need to do if you want to be satisfied.

So, here’s my promised list…

10 Things You Need to Do If You Want to Be Satisfied

1. Choose to praise God for who He is. (Psalm 42)
2. Choose to avoid comparing your circumstances with anyone else’s. (Romans 12:1–16)
3. Choose to stop chasing the enemy’s lie that freedom exists outside of God’s will. (John 8:44)
4. Choose to do your best and use what God has given you for His glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
5. Choose to trust God to take care of you and will supply everything you need. (Philippians 4:19)
6. Choose to count your blessings. (Psalm 103:1–6)
7. Choose to trust and obey God’s plans and purposes. (Romans 12:2)
8. Choose to give your burdens to the Lord and ask Him to take care of you. (Psalm 55:22)
9. Choose to live with a grateful heart. (Psalm 138)
10. Choose to believe God’s promise to never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

How is it possible to “choose” a list atypical of our sinful human nature?

Jesus said…

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.

When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

John 14:15–17, 26–27

And Paul wrote the following about the Holy Spirit…

The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. 

Romans 8:26

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22–23

I’m guessing the title of this post drew you in because you want to be satisfied but you’re struggling in the midst of your current circumstances.

If so, I’d love for you to pray with me…

Dear Jesus, You said that Your purpose was to give Your followers a “rich and satisfying” life. I want that! But You also know that my current circumstances make feelings of satisfaction seem like they are just a bit beyond my reach. I need Your help, Lord.

So, I surrender myself and this moment to You. I ask You to increase my faith and fill me with Your Spirit. I ask You to help me choose to do the things I need to do to rest on the truth of Your promises with confidence that today and each day in the future, one moment at a time, You will give me everything I need to be satisfied. I trust Your Spirit to fill me with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I believe You are with me. I believe that with Your help I can get up each day in faith, assured that with Your help I will be satisfied. Thank you, Jesus. Please receive my prayer by Your grace and help me live for Your glory. Amen.

Friend, I’m praying for you! May you be satisfied in Christ Jesus … trusting His promise to give you everything you need.

May I ask you one last time…

Are you satisfied? Do you want to be?

We would love to pray for you.
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