If I Only Had Just A Little More

If I Only Had Just A Little More

"The lie of the secularist is the notion that contentment in life is dependent upon material possessions. The going expression is, 'if I only had just a little more.' One of the important lessons that we should learn early in life is this: 'If I am not satisfied with what I have, I will never be satisfied with what I want...' " -- Kenneth W. Osbeck( Amazing Grace, pg. 191)

A question we must all ask ourselves today is -

What is the true source of my daily satisfaction?

Is it great accomplishments, making a name for myself, moving to another location and becoming established in the community, going to school and getting another degree, making more money, etc.?

The people of Babel had the great ambition to build a city, a tower, and make a name for themselves -

Genesis 11:4 - "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower...and let us make us a name..." But it brought no real satisfaction. On the contrary, it brought confusion - for God was not in it.

Lot thought that happiness could be found in worldly honors and possessions. He left his uncle Abraham to venture out toward Sodom and Gomorrah - a land that seemed so promising -

Genesis 13:10 - "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar."

He failed to look beyond the surface of the beautiful landscapes and the well-watered lowlands that promised him great prosperity and success. In the end, he lost his wife and all of his assets because he failed to realize that true satisfaction cannot be found in earthly treasures.

King Solomon sought for true satisfaction in education, buildings, taxes and revenues, and entertainment but only came to the conclusion that "all was vanity and vexation of spirit." It offered no gratification for his soul. Rather it left him feeling empty and lacking -

Ecclesiastes 1:17 - "And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly..."

Ecclesiastes 2:4,8,11 - "I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards...I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts...Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."

A man by the name of W. Marshall Craig once said -

"No man is living at his best who is not living at his best spiritually."

Oh! That we would all realize the truth of this statement.

It would save us alot of pain and sorrow in this life.

Unfortunately, so many of God's people find themselves in the same predicament as those in Jeremiah's day -

Jeremiah 2:13 - "For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."

A "cistern" was a pit, well, or pool that was dug out of the earth, rock, or stone in order to hold water or receive the rain. Due to the hot weather conditions, these cisterns would crack and cleave and lose their water contents. Or because they were containers filled with still water, the water became muddy, filthy, and corrupted.

The "cisterns" in our lives typify those things which we take great pains to accomplish. At first, they seem to be very promising in offering us great comfort and satisfaction. They range anywhere from wealth, pleasure, honor, friendships or relationships, etc. Nonetheless, in the end, they prove to be "broken cisterns" for - somewhere down the line - they crack and cleave and lose all delight.

What is or should be the true source of our daily satisfaction?

In Psalm 107:9, David directed our attention to the Only One Who can satisfy the longings of our souls - the Lord Jesus Christ - when he said - "For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."

As one songwriter so aptly wrote -

"Only Jesus can satisfy,

Only Jesus my need can supply,

Who gives me blessings that gold can't buy,

Only Jesus my Lord."

In the early 1900's, a Wesleyan Methodist woman by the name of Clara Tear Williams penned the beautiful hymn called "Satisfied." The words are as follows -

"All my life long I had panted for a draught, from some clear spring,

That I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within.

Feeding on the husks around me, till my strength was almost gone,

Longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on.

Poor I was, and sought for riches, something that would satisfy,

But the dust I gathered round me only mocked my soul's sad cry.

Well of water, ever springing, bread of life so rich and free,

Untold wealth that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me.

Chorus - Hallelujah! I have found Him Whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longings - Thru His blood I now am saved."

Oh! Christian! Are you feeding on the husks around you?

Resultantly, are you finding that your strength is almost gone?

Are you longing for something better only still to hunger on?

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus in John 7:37 - "...If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink."

Only Jesus can satisfy the longings of your soul.

In closing, read the finishing quote of Kenneth Osbeck in his commentary on the hymn - "Satisfied" written by Clara Williams -

"...But contentment is an attitude that must be learned and developed. It is foreign to our human behavior. The Apostle Paul was shut up in Nero's dungeon in Rome when he penned these words: 'I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation...'Philippians 4:12 ). Paul's contentment was a personal relationship with his Lord. Money can buy many wonderful things, but it never provides this kind of permanent satisfaction. Only an intimate daily relationship with our Creator can truly satisfy the human heart."

Years ago, the Lord gave me a vision. I saw the people of God with empty tin cups running everywhere,

asking the people of the world if they could fill their cups. What an abomination this is! To think that a Christian - who has found perfect satisfaction in the Lord Jesus at salvation - would go back to the world, looking for true satisfaction and fulfillment! Satan has deceived many in the Church. There is no doubt about it.

Are you one of them?

Have you allowed your affections to be drawn from the Lord Jesus to the things of this world?

Have you forsaken Him as "the fountain of living waters" and made yourself "cisterns, broken cisterns" to hold your "foul waters" of satisfaction?

Does the "dust" that you have been gathering all around you just mock your soul's sad cry for fulfillment?

Return to the Fountain Of Living Waters!

Turn away from all the idols of this world and the things that can never satisfy.

Enjoy once again blessed contentment in knowing that Jesus is your "well of water, ever springing."

Remember - His well will never run dry!

May God Bless His Word.

Connie

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