I wonder if we ever replace GOD with some unreliable substitute.
Ecclesiastes 1:13 -Solomon decided to dedicate his money, time, and wisdom to conduct an experiment on human happiness. What did he find? Everything, even the best things, are hevel. Hevel is the Hebrew word that means “mist” or “vapor” and conveys the thought of here now and gone quickly.
Ecclesiastes 1:2 -in this life, everything is temporary, only briefly present.
If you want lasting peace, joy, satisfaction, and happiness in this life, if might not be found in the places you assume.
What are you pursuing to make you happy?
Truth: We all share the same desire–to find something really good that really lasts.
Proverbs 19:22: Our hearts crave an eternal “is.” They will never be satisfied with a “was” or a “will be.”
Augustine: “You have made us with Yourself as our goal, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” Until you rest in the truth that GOD is here, you heart will be restless.
Jeremiah 2:13: We leave behind GOD’s grace to find an alternative source to quench our thirst. GOD substitutes promise much but deliver little.
Jesus sat down by a well and waited for a thirsty woman who had been digging a broken cistern called romance. John 4:13-14
John 4:16: Jesus knew that the men in her past couldn’t quench her heart’s desire.
John 4:17-18: This woman was wasting her life worshipping men, which is why Jesus didn’t give her 10 tips on making marriage work but one massive revelation: John 4:26.
John 4:28: She left her jar behind, that symbol of her never-ending work sat propped up at the well.
So why is it so hard for us to stay happy? Why do we need another trip, another night out, another pair of shoes, another phone, another gun, another car? Maybe because GOD never wanter you to be completely content until you found the One you were created to crave. John 6:27
The problem with food is that it doesn’t last. John 6:35
TRUTH: The blessing always turns out to be less satisfying than GOD.