There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, “Enough!”:
the grave,
the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire,
which never says, “Enough!”
(Prv 30:15-16)
The captioned footnote in my Life Application Bible reads, “Three things....four” is a poetic way of saying the list is not complete. That being the case, could we then also add to this catalog a worldly heart as something that never says "Enough"?
The heart (certainly mine anyway) tends to have an insatiable appetite. (Especially when it longs for anything other than God.) Needing to remain filled, it endlessly desires.
Desiring worldly things incubates into an unquenchable plague. Some examples of what I classify as "worldly" (temporal things the world values) can include: a standard of living, material possessions, finances, items of leisure/comfort, etc. They can leave us wanting. Because only God can fill that void. He keeps the desires of our heart satisfied (Ps 37:4).
Truly delighting in the Lord changes your desires. It flips them. It flips the desire for the created into a desire for the Creator.
Drifting from contentment to longing is a quiet, gradual fade. It can most easily assault when you’ve undergone a period of financial crisis (that theory is based upon personal experience). When you find yourself continually praying for provision and the wait is long, discouragement can hijack contentment. When you long for relief . . . solutions, the source of joy can be dethroned—from Creator to created.
That’s precisely when a misguided heart can boldly proclaim, "Enough!" That’s when we can remember to exchange the secular for the sacred and sacrifice our temporal wants on the altar of gratitude. That’s when we can choose to desire God more . . . and have enough.
Merciful God, You are my heart's desire and my true delight! Grant me discernment, to recognize that any other longing is an imposter. Anchor these desires to the eternal. And help me to keep my heart—my whole heart—stayed on You.
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