Living the Satisfied Life

by Olga Hermans

 

Have you ever thought about what it is that brings true satisfaction and fulfillment in life? How you can find that contentment that will last longer this time? We clutter our life with so much meaningless work and activities that it is easy to lose sight of the way that God has meant your existence to be. He designed us and it is up to us to discover the life we were born to live.

Life is meant to be enjoyable, fulfilling, and satisfying; there is so much more to it than just existing or struggling or even surviving. I just have been watching a teaching from Dr. Don Colbert and he said that things/material possessions only produce 10% happiness. Personality makes up about 50% and 40% comes from how we think, our actions and reactions. I thought that was very interesting, because we think, in our way of living, that things bring us the satisfaction that we desire so much.

Truly happy people have found that fulfillment finds its source deep within and is largely unaffected by external surroundings or material possessions. The world however thinks totally different; the world is always pulling us to buy this and do that and most of the times, we fall into that trap.

Several years ago, a U.S. news magazine conducted a survey, questioning people in various income categories. People with an annual income of $25,000 were asked how much money it would take for them to live “the American Dream.” The average answer was $54,000 annually. The same question was asked of people making $100,000 annually; their average answer was $192,000.

What do the results of this survey tell us? Until we come to the understanding that living satisfied comes from our heart and the way we think; our mindset, we will always think that we need more things in our way of living to reach our goal in life. A very rich man once answered the question of how much it takes to be rich with “just a little more”. That is what most people think “just a little more.”

Benjamin Franklin said it his way, “To be content makes a poor man rich and discontent makes a rich man poor.” To really enjoy a life of fulfilment on a daily basis, we need to have our eyes on the right source.

To enjoy this kind of fulfilled life on a daily basis, it is important for us to look to the right source. People around us and even our best family and friends cannot give us what we truly crave. People will always disappoint us, because we humans are fickle. We should never seek approval of others, material possessions or status because they are not meant to be in our days to give us that kind of lasting satisfaction that we think we so desperately need.

Oh yes, there is that superficial sense of satisfaction that can come from all kinds of sources, but that is not the kind of satisfaction that you are looking for, because they are always unpredictable and short-lived.

To be “satisfied” can be defined as the sense of having enough or doing enough; to be content; or to experience fulfillment and gratification. The problem is though that the average person never thinks or feels like has really reached that point of having done enough. That is why we need to have a close look at our perspective in life and to get a grip on the source of real fulfillment and lasting satisfaction.

Can you imagine how fulfilled your life with Jesus can be? His love and joy and abundance are living on the inside of us. Jesus isn’t fickle or inconsistent; He is always the same. He is the only person that you really can depend on. When we put Him 1^st place in our life and we center our lives in Him, we become happier and stronger and on top of that we become much healthier in all areas of our way of living.

We have a better outlook on our way of living and because we feel so much better and feel fulfilled, our relationships flourish. Everything gets better, because our focus is not on other people but on Jesus who always causes us to triumph in every situation.

That is the key, that for a lasting satisfied life of fulfillment we need to become deeply connected with an intimate relationship with God. The person who created us to love us no matter what; the person that has experienced that is truly satisfied in the Lord because he understands that God is the only reliable source in his way of living. The only source that of true fulfillment, abundant provision, and lasting security.

This is how The Apostle said it:way of living

    …For I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me. Phil. 4:11-13

Paul tells us that we need to learn to be satisfied and that it is an attitude that we need to practice. You know, look at the children; they are never content on their own. They always want something new. Marketers know this for a fact; they place the goodies for the children on a lower eye level just for them. We as mommies have to tell them that they cannot get everything they want, right? Children aren’t satisfied with what they have; they want what they don’t have.

Sadly enough many people are still the same when they grow up. Teenagers almost always give in on peer pressure; they want to have the latest thing in the store because “everyone has it.” Far too often, that same childish behaviour carries on into marriages. Some people will always live with that constant feeling of dissatisfaction because of the things they don’t have.

There are far too many people who want to “keep up with the Joneses” and want to have the latest fashion and the latest gadgets or the newest car even. This dissatisfaction robs people’s joy and clouds their lives with discontentment.

Paul talks about attitude of contentment in First Timothy 6:6 (AMP):

“[And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.” Paul describes contentment as a sense of inward sufficiency. It is to be our source of immense profit.

Read again what Paul says in Philippians 4:11: “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” This same idea is also found in Hebrews 13:5: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

A satisfied life comes forth when we live from the inside out; when we can see it on the inside it will automatically show up on the outside.

When we center ourselves in Him, we discover the depth of Jesus’ love for us, and this brings the fulfillment we long for. It is from this point that we discover the power and security of living a contented way of living. As you become clearer about how you want your life to look like and about who you are in Christ, you will watch it come to pass in your own life and that is the true satisfied life.

The moment we are content and at peace with God, we can be at peace with ourselves. His peace brings confidence, no matter who we’re with or how intimidating someone may seem.

Question: What are the things in your life that keep you back from living your life with contentment and satisfaction? Please share with us and the other readers.

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