It’s Thanksgiving Day around two in the afternoon, after everyone has eaten. Some have fallen asleep in front of the TV watching football, others are playing card games and kids are running around in the backyard. The morning has been spent catching up and enjoying one another. Leftovers are about to be reheated and Grandma yells “Come an’ eat!”
Black Friday store ads are strewn all over the living room floor with kids and adults circling the things they want for Christmas. There is chatter among the moms and older cousins planning our tradition of Black Friday shopping together—when we’ll meet, what stores we should go to and my personal favorite, figuring out where we’re going to go for early morning breakfast afterward.
I have such fond memories of Thanksgiving Days like these but the irony of it is more striking to me every year. On a day when thanksgiving and gratitude are meant to be the central focus, we’ve become inundated with countless “deals” and the message that what you currently have is not enough so you must have more.
This sweater or that gadget will help satisfy your lack! It is understandable that we feel so pulled by these messages. As humans created by God and for God living in a world marred by brokenness, we sense our incompleteness, our lack and feel that what we currently have, or who we currently are, is simply not enough. Something is not as it ought to be.
Designed to Thirst for Living Water
Can you relate to that feeling? You may sense that things are not as they ought to be in your own life. There are many external solutions offered to satisfy the human longing for things to be different, to be whole. For example, you may feel the effects of aging as you journey closer to death, the ultimate effect of brokenness in our world. What’s offered is anti-aging skin care, plastic surgery, a vacation of escape, a detox or diet that is “proven” to elongate life. While none of these things are inherently bad, they cannot offer the wholeness, contentment, and peace you desire. Where do you sense this longing for wholeness, a sense of incompleteness or tension?
In John 4, Jesus walks to a well and meets a Samaritan woman coming to draw water. He begins talking with her about “living water” and its ability to satisfy thirst to the extent that the recipient will “never get thirsty again.” In verse 13 Jesus says, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.” In John 7:37-39 we are told this “living water” refers to the Holy Spirit dwelling within those who believed in him. The “Living Water” you have received is willing and able to satisfy every longing your heart experiences as you delight more and more in him.
Quench Your Thirst
How do we cultivate lives of contentment and wholeness found in Jesus Christ our Lord? We are invited by God to live in his kingdom where those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled! Scripture tells us that those who pursue righteousness, who take on the yoke of Jesus and learn from him, who become true disciples, will find contentment and fulfillment.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:6-10, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” He also warns us that those who desire to be rich are susceptible to falling into temptation, acting on foolish and harmful desires that lead to destruction.
Walking in the way of Jesus, doing what he did nurtures lives of contentment. Following Jesus is not always easy and yet Scripture teaches us that it is what brings true fulfillment. The fruit of righteousness is lasting fulfillment.
Additionally, Paul reminds us that we have brought nothing into this world and can take nothing with us when we die. This leads us to our next hint toward cultivating hearts of satisfaction: gratitude. Nothing belongs to us! All that you enjoy and love in your life has been a gift from your generous God.
God is a self-existing self-sustaining being that gives life to all that you see around you. We serve a God of abundance and we give birth to an inner sense of fulfillment when we know and experience God as the most generous parent to ever live. If we project our own fears of scarcity onto our Father we can believe that he has limits like us, that his ability to give has an end, or at least an end for us. Absolutely not. God the Father gave his one and only Son so that we might live with him now and forever.
The generosity of God overflows into his children daily; let’s train our eyes to see it. Seeing the generosity of God requires learning the practice of presence to the moment; being where your body is. To train yourself, you might practice gratitude in a journal or take a walk without music and really notice the intricacies and beauty of the world around you. My husband and I like to take a morning walk and ask each other three questions: What are three things you appreciated about yesterday? What are three things you appreciate about me? What are three things you appreciate about God? These questions help us train our eyes to see the good around us and condition our hearts toward gratitude. You may want to ask these questions to a spouse or close friend.
Water that Leaves You Thirsty
Scripture teaches that material possessions are always mysteriously intertwined with spiritual matters. Biblical salvation is holistic, involving the body and the soul, the material and the spiritual. We would be wise to take the warning found in the story of the rich young ruler who loved his possessions more than he loved God.
Owning material things are gifts to be enjoyed but they bring about real sorrow when they own us. We are simply stewards of all our possessions. Reminding ourselves that God is our Provider, denying ourselves when necessary, and being willing to give our things away in generosity, give us a strong safeguard from falling into a trap. Paul says in 1 Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”
In a holiday season that is meant for giving thanks for all that we have, looking with expectation toward the birth of Jesus our Messiah, let us turn only to him to satisfy our deepest hungers and thirsts. He delights in and is eager to quench our longings and satisfy our hearts. We have an opportunity to become more like him this holiday season by resting in his grace and generosity toward us and extending that grace and generosity to others.
