Life is hard.
What comes to mind when you take in the weight of that statement?
(I promise my motive here is not to escort you into to a state of depression. And no, the quick reminder is not that life is hard.)
If you’re like me, the statement, “Life is hard,” might usher in a load of less than pleasant thoughts and feelings. Those things that happened that we had either all, little or no control over can make us feel restless, anxious, upset and embarrassed. Maybe it will leave you staring blankly at whatever device you are reading on, or maybe that’s just me at the moment.
We could continue to dwell on the hardships, make a list of them, discuss why they happened and what we can do to make sure we don’t repeat ourselves, but let’s leave that for another time and get to the point.
I believe the hardest things in life tend to bring about the biggest lessons that for better or for worse often define us as we move forward. And unfortunately, we as humans can often be pretty stubborn when it comes to putting those learned lessons into practice. In such cases, we tend to find ourselves in the midst of learning the same lessons over and over again. While there are a great deal of hardships and lessons to glean from, I would like to share one lesson I find myself often too stubborn to learn.
The lesson that continually awaits me at times of great sorrow, pain and dissatisfaction is this:
Only my Father in heaven can satisfy the depths of my being. He alone is what my soul longs after. My spirit within cries out for me to know Him, to love Him and to be loved by Him. One taste of His love is the greatest pleasure I could ever come to experience. Not one other thing, situation, circumstance or person is worthy of comparison.
As a weary and thirsty traveler who seeks after a mirage in the desert, so am I when I am not continually conscious of the truth that He is whom every part of me longs for.
I must constantly remind myself, “You alone satisfy. Nothing else will do.”
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” -Psalm 42:1
