I wrote in yesterday's post that we can find great satisfaction in hard work. As I mused on this topic throughout the day I realized there is a flaw. Not in God's design but in we humans.
We were created with a hole in our hearts that demands to be filled. This hole has an odd shape to it, this hole is God shaped. If we fill it with the right "stuff", with God himself, we find contentment and satisfaction even here on earth. But a need arises within that drives us to fill this hole, while the hole remains empty we feel incomplete. However, as we attempt to fill it with the things of this world, material possessions, adventure, even good deeds, we soon realize that the more we shovel into the emptiness, the less full it gets. It's really paradoxical until you understand why these things can't satisfy.
This paradox comes from the design of the hole itself. The hole rejects anything that does not belong and so leaves us the impression that the more we try to fill it with wrong things, the emptier we feel.
When we look around this world and see successful people like Tiger Woods, and hear how dedicated he is to his sport: The long hours or training, his focus, his very heart is the game of golf. The results speak for themselves: He is one of the most recognizable figures in sports today and one of the all-time most successful players in the game. Even with all that, plus a beautiful family, one would think all of this would fill many holes, but as we've seen, it was not enough and in his attempt to fill the void he traversed paths that proved that even with all he had acquired it could not fill the emptiness in his heart. It was all the wrong "stuff".
We see this in everyone who by the world's standards are considered great. A flame of desire burns in their souls and drives them to go further and climb higher. It takes courage and discipline to travel the path of greatness but in all their devotion, once they attain to the "speed of business" as the advertisements for UPS say, stopping becomes the terror, because if they stop they might fall, and to fall from the glorious heights would be nothing short of disaster. If, however, they were not too terrified to stop and exam their lives, they'd find themselves looking into an infinite hole of vaporous nothing. All their accomplishments would be like steam and as they try to grasp and cling, it vanishes before their eyes like a dearly loved one's ghost that we long to hold onto in our dreams. And like our dreams, we're left with nothing, just like those who attempt to fill the void with the things of this earth. For you see, everything we throw into the hole in our futile attempt to find contentment and satisfaction, is mist. Only God can fill the hole all the way to satisfaction and contentment.
Work, hard, dedicated work, does provide us all with a sense of satisfaction, and God commends this to our lives but...when work (or anything else) is our means to fill the ever present emptiness, it becomes like a mirage of water in the dry and thirsty land of our souls.
When God is the "stuff" of our emptiness, then our souls are revived by the living water that can only be given by Him. Our shriveled souls are revived and then, and only then, does the work we do truly satisfy.
Where are you finding satisfaction today? Even long time believers can fall into the trap of worldly thinking and find their souls dehydrated. Turning back to God and allowing his healing streams of life to flow into our hearts will once again imbue us with refreshing life.
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