(Excerpt from My Reflection in His Eyes: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You)
… For years I have wondered why we don’t know the name of the woman by the well. Jesus knew her name. But perhaps she remains nameless because she has so many names.
Each one of us has a wishing well that we have long dropped our buckets of hope into. The well of men – with each drop of the bucket, hoping to fish out your prince charming who will fill your hearts’ desire. The well of success – lowering your
pail into the waters of work, toil and strain to try once more to gain the approval of friends, family, self or the world. Whatever your well might be, God has an appointment with you there right now. And He is offering to fill your heart with a spring of living water, or a more modern way of looking at it, He is offering you a spiritual power outlet like none other!
I believe the Lord made a woman’s heart a little bit like a three prong electrical plug. Some of the strongest appliances in our home have three prong plugs and they won’t fit in to just any outlet. A woman was made to do great things, but she needs the strength of the three prong outlet to power her life. Often, we ladies try to plug into other outlets, missing the full fledged power, the gift, God is holding out to us. And the harder things get, the harder we try and then our little electrical circuits blow a fuse! God’s three prong outlet is the key to your satisfaction, security and significance.
1. Satisfaction
The world holds before us infinite means to grasp at satisfaction. Having that gorgeous new car, a new house, the manicured yard, the cute little figure, on and on it goes. Stuff will get us the answers to our heart’s call – “satisfaction guaranteed!” I have secretly thought about calling one of those “if you’re not satisfied” numbers and using the poor person on the other end of the line for free therapy. “Yes, I ate the whole carton of chunky monkey ice cream, but the dishwasher is still broken, my house is still a mess, my schedule is still crammed beyond my ability to fill and the bills still pose a mystery of how the ends will meet; so no, I’m not satisfied!” Sometimes it’s not stuff we turn to for satisfaction. Sometimes it’s a new haircut, a pedicure, or a Martha Stewart cleaning/organizing binge. Ever tried one of those? (I’m not sure, but it seems like my house always ends up messier after one of those!)
What do you turn to for satisfaction? Peace of mind?
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11
Often God is pictured as a bit of a killjoy. But He is the ultimate source of satisfaction. Not only is Jesus the one place I can find real joy, but there are pleasures forever at His right hand. Not the kind of pleasure you get from a twenty minute pedicure, but pleasure forever! God created you with the ability to experience pleasure – He wired you that way. And in His infinite imagination and complete power He has more means to delight your heart at His fingertips than we can even fathom! But notice where those pleasures are: at His right hand. You and I must get close to the Father to have those pleasures. We cannot hold God at a distance, visit Him for an hour and a half on Sunday and then leave if we want to experience the pleasure He has for us. No, we must linger at His throne, get close to His hand and close to His heart.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. Psalm 145:16 NIV
Again, to experience the delight God has for you, you must get close enough to Him to put your hand in His.
John 10:10 gives one of Jesus’ life missional statements: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,and have it to the full. He didn’t come to give you a life of do’s and don’ts, but a life of fullness, abundance! As the Psalm states, He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing, so when Christ died, He opened His arms to the world, offering forgiveness, but also soul satisfaction, love and peace to each of us. Have you drawn near enough to taste the full table of delight He has prepared for you? Do not settle for the crumbs, He holds out so much more to you!Devotional excerpt from the Bible Study My Reflection in His Eyes: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You. For more encouraging words on this topic, you can order the study here.
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