No More Substitutes - Choosing God Above EverythingНамуна

The Real Source of Satisfaction

I want you to read Jeremiah 29. Don’t just focus on verse 11. Read the entire chapter, or at minimum, verses 1-14. The children of Israel were in exile for generations. This letter was written because the Lord wanted them to know that He saw them - and to give them hope.

You can still thrive in a place where there is exile because God knows the plans He has for you. But here’s the real issue: Sometimes things feel hard to us because we’re focusing on our flesh and desiring things that everyone else may have (i.e., the career/status, the spouse, the child, or the house). Those things aren’t bad until they’ve become your idols and substitutes for God. The enemy wants to make you think that God is the entrée, and those idols are the side dish. God is saying I’m the whole meal – everything else is optional.

Now, let’s go back and read Jeremiah 29:13-14.

We should be so immersed in who God is that whatever He does after the physical restoration will have nothing on the spiritual satisfaction.

If you’ve been feasting on junk and substitutes or starving spiritually, you’re going to be hungry again; that’s how the soul works. This time, you’ll have an opportunity to make a different choice (because God will give you another chance). This time, be wise. The correct choice isn’t going to be popular, but it’s going to be good for your soul.

Seek God.

Pray to Him.

The way you find Him is when you seek Him under one condition: With ALL your heart.

Psalm 37:4 says: Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

A decision for Christ without delight IN Christ is not a life in Christ.

1. Do you truly delight in Christ?
2. If God didn’t change or do another thing for you, would you be completely satisfied with His salvation?

If you answered no, ask the Lord to reset your appetite because you only want to crave Him. Reject the substitutes. Remember this: The enemy will still come for your flesh, in the form of substitutes, even after you give God a sincere yes.