Pleasures Forevermore

Old Treasures on Tuesdays 👑

“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare” (Is. 55:2, NIV).

The other day, an ad from my phone’s app store caught my eye. It proudly announced, “Clash Royale’s New Warfare!” Immediately, I heard Holy Spirit talking to me about it. He was emphasizing to me the use of the word, “New.”

Why does this marketing strategy work? Why are we always eager for “the new”? This constant consumerist pull on our souls will show us something if we get quiet and listen. Our persistent drive for that next rush of excitement divulges something crucial about us. It reveals that, underneath, we have not yet encountered true satisfaction. “The new” promises to fulfill us in some tantalizing way we haven’t experienced before. “The new” lies. And the lie – the perpetual carrot dangling before our noses – works, because our souls are ever searching for something more.

“The new” appeals to us because we are on a quest to fill an empty place inside. But “the new” does not deliver. It does not come through. It enslaves us to a never-ending cycle of unfulfillment. The momentary exhilaration quickly wears off and we are duped into thinking the next one is the answer. A bigger, better smart TV gleams in our imagination. Maybe just that next glorious iPhone. Or that gorgeous car! That would definitely make life more rewarding!

But we should ask ourselves, how is this going for us? Did that last big purchase really enhance our existence? Did that last concert with its flashing lights and music infuse our spirit with enduring joy and peace? Did that last highly anticipated sporting event bring our soul into a place of deep, lasting satisfaction?

There are seasons of our lives when God allows the removal of many of these temporary pleasures. He does this that we might discover that which really does permanently satisfy. It’s Jesus. He calls out to us in beckoning invitation, “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35, NIV).

Hunger and thirst are symbols of the inner drives of the spirit. Hunger must be fed again and again and again. Thirst must be quenched over and over and over. But the one who comes unto Jesus is going to finally discover the satiation we were created for… the kind that does not evaporate and vanish away soon after it arrives. The kind that lasts forever.

When we draw near to Jesus, we finally discover an enduring answer for the relentless appetite within. He says to our hearts, “Coming to Me, you will never go hungry. When you discover intimate communion with Me, your never-ending pursuit of fleeting fulfillment comes to a magnificent conclusion. Satiation is no longer out of reach. You can breathe in a sigh of deep relief because suddenly you know… your soul has found home at last. True, unending satisfaction is finally yours, to stay. Forever.”

His living waters really do endlessly satisfy. After all, He put that restless hungering there in our souls, that we might crave Him, and find the life that is truly life.

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Have you tasted of the “pleasures forevermore” found in the presence of God?