January 30- The Joy of Knowing Jesus

Have you ever noticed that most people are never satisfied regardless of their success?  We work extremely hard at setting goals, fulfilling dreams, and pursuing careers; but once we have accomplished what we’ve set out to do, we quickly become restless.  We want bigger homes, better cars, and broader horizons.  There is nothing wrong with completing a task, but it seems as though we are never satisfied.

The apostle Paul experienced this same temptation, but he learned to be content apart from the external circumstances of life.  When we base our joy upon all the “blessings of life” then our satisfaction comes and goes with every changing wind.  Paul’s joy and satisfaction was not rooted in this world, but rather came through his relationship with Christ.  Our position in Christ is the greatest and final pursuit of the soul.  Paul knew that his life was complete in Jesus.

That’s what most of us are looking for, is it not? – to be complete, to be whole, to be satisfied.  Your job, your money, your position, your friends, your possessions, your degrees will never fully satisfy you; they only accentuate a greater need in your life- the need to know God.   Jesus fully satisfies.  When you find yourself raptured in the simple bliss of knowing Him, you will realize there is nothing greater than being His child.

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy” – C.S. Lewis