Haggai 1:6, English Standard Version

“You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”

Occasionally I will read a verse in which the Lord’s rally uses to speak to me. Sometimes it will be about something that is coming or something that is going on right at that moment. But other times, it will remind me of something that happened to me in the past. When I read the passage for today, I was immediately reminded of the person I was before I came to the place of submission to the will of Christ. 

I remember those days well. Always striving to get that nicer car, devising a plan to get a bigger house, or a higher paying job, or a more prestigious position in the church I was attending. It was all about me chasing the things that I thought would make me happier. I was literally the definition of a “me monster”. The big problem started to occur when I would actually get those things that I was seeking to have. There might be a temporary satisfaction and the feeling of contentment, but no sooner than I had gotten it the joy would begin to fade and would feel the need for more. It was like a never-ending cycle in which I would never be satisfied. Imagine running in a race and people handing you a water bottle. But when you put the bottle up in your mouth nothing comes out and you remain thirsty. That is the picture of what my life was like when I was trying to fulfill my own desires. 

I look around at so many people in my life and I see them living out the same pattern. They believe that they can be their own savior. Many of them I have tried to speak truth to and yet, many of them still continue on in the same direction. My deepest desire is that one day they will understand this truth: joy and contentment can never be found in our own strength and effort, it is only found when we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

If you are reading this today and you have been working to build a life but never feel satisfied, or seeking to experience joy but only find disappointment, then I want you to know, Jesus wants to satisfy you and bring joy into your life. It is a joy that never fades. It is satisfaction that surpasses all understanding. Do not continue on in this world trying to do it on your own. Submit Christ and let Him give you what you have been searching for all along.