The Empty Desire for Things

Chasing After Things

One of our deepest desires as humans is to live a meaningful and fulfilled life. We are constantly on the lookout for things that will bring us fulfillment, contentment and happiness. We long for the peace and joy that come with material possessions, successful careers, beautiful bodies, higher levels of education, popularity and recognition, self-advancement, sex, pleasure, and relationships. When we obtain these things, we often feel excited for a short period of time, but then we feel empty, and the cycle begins again, and we seek the next best thing.

None of these things can completely satisfy our hearts' hunger. We all want to be happy, but we can end up wasting years pursuing things that don't bring lasting happiness. 

"I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastics 1:14

How many people are happy because they have a lot of money? Are they not up all night trying to figure out how to make more or how to protect what they already have? Wealth brings its own set of problems and anxieties that, ironically, deprive you of its enjoyment. Some of the world's wealthiest and most famous people are said to be among the unhappiest.

"And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Ecclesiastics 4:4

God's Peace and Joy

Christians are meant to experience joy and peace, which is impossible unless we truly encounter God in our lives and align ourselves with His will and His purpose for our lives. We are to be transformed by renewing our minds in accordance with God's Word, so that we may know God's will and experience the good plan and purpose He has for each of us.

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.." Romans 12:2

Renewing our minds means changing our thinking. With God's Word, we change our minds. God's word has the ability to transform us from the inside out. It alters our thoughts and attitudes, allowing us to see things through God's perspective and experience His inner peace in our lives.

We develop whole new ways of thinking. We start to have new perspectives on things. The message we receive from the outside world is that achieving success requires us to work extremely hard and sacrifice everything in order to achieve worldly comforts. But God defines success as remaining steadfast in Him, who is able to meet all of our material and spiritual needs.  We must remember our goal is to spend eternity with our maker, in a perfect existence free of sin and suffering. Our current lives are but a short portion of our existence. There is a bigger picture, there is life after death.

His Word says that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us our heart's desires. His word also says that if we seek Him and His righteousness first, He will provide everything we need to live a fulfilling life. He wants us to have plenty of everything that is good, but we must keep in mind that nothing can give us enduring joy apart from God. Therefore, we must prevent our relationship with Him from being hampered by our cravings for anything else on this planet. God must be our top priority.

"The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalms 37:4

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33