How to Satisfy the Human Desire for Love, Joy, and Fulfillment

Humanness.

 

There’s something so interesting about being a human being, living in this seemingly endless series of experiences and emotions, events and times of extreme joy and extreme pain.

 

Life is so beautiful, and so fragile, and we can be so sensitive to all of it.

 

I know I am.

 

I’ve noticed this pattern in myself and those around me, of being caught in this awkward middle place of knowing that the Christian answer is that only Jesus can satisfy me – and yet still chasing after these things that I’m sure will bring me happiness.

 

Because deep down, we all have these intrinsic desires in our hearts. And they’re not wrong at all. Unlike Buddhism, which says “All life is suffering, and suffering comes from desire; therefore, rid yourself of desire,” I say, no, we should keep on desiring.

We all desire happiness.

 

We all desire to be valued.

 

We all desire love.

 

We all desire to be fully known.

 

We all desire to be safe and secure.

 

We all desire to have personal relationships with other humans, to relate to them on a level of mutual understanding and trust because they’re humans too.

 

We all desire to be filled with something in our hearts, some kind of fulfillment, some sweet sort of beautiful and lovely joy, one that doesn’t leave us dry and wishing for more.

 

And all that desire? I say it’s what makes us human beings, made in the image of God, even.

 

As Christians, I think it’s immensely important that we find a way to channel that desire into something valid. Something true. Something real, worth it.

 

Because this life is not about ceasing to desire, but about desiring good things and finding the actual fulfillment of those very things.

 

It gets tricky here as we see that these things aren’t as easy as we once thought they would be.

 

See, we all know we want to be loved. But that’s not found by forcing anyone to love us. It’s not found by pursuing just anyone, not found by wishful thinking, not found by embracing our hookup culture’s lies of love being purely physical or driven from emotions.

 

We all want to be safe and secure, but in the state the world is in, how can we truly be sure? We can strive to grasp for control, but it will ultimately slip through our tiny little fingers…we were never the ones in control in the first place.

 

We all want to be happy, but where do we find it? We look to culture, and what do we see but millions of ads telling us that money is the answer, that power is the answer, that being gorgeous is the answer, that having the glittering wedding rings and luxurious high-rise apartments are the answer to all of our desires to be happy.

 

Ultimate life fulfillment is not an easy thing to wrap our finite heads and hearts around. As a society, we make it out to be an easy-solve problem; a materialism-driven answer to a desire that goes so much deeper than what first meets the eye.

 

We all know that the Christian answer is Jesus. But what does that even look like?

 

The place I’ve found for being fulfilled starts with this question – Is Jesus enough for me?

 

Do I believe that He is the only One that can shower me with the love that my heart ultimately longs for?

 

Can I try to grasp that He knows me fully, and He desires that I would, in turn, get to know Him through His Son and His spirit working in my life?

 

Can I begin to understand that the source of all authentic joy comes from intimately knowing my God and His grace?

 

I’m slowly learning, day after day, what it looks like to not only desire God – not just to desire that fantasy-like notion of an infinite Being existing, who wants to know me personally – but in letting my heart be satisfied by Him as well.

 

We are to live lives of longing for Him, and at the same time, finding satiation in Him alone.

 

He is the center of all things.

 

He is the source of fulfillment.

 

Other incredible things may come into our lives as well. Good friends. Good experiences. Good pleasure. Good relationships. Those are all amazing, God-given things, and I don’t want to minimize our desires for them at all.

 

Yet in the midst of a world that craves real hope, real joy, real peace, and real love – let us look to the Source, and let our lives unfold from living in a marvelous relationship with our glorious God.

 

 

Quick note: I’m going to be taking some time off from blogging again; I’ve got a lot going on, so besides Purposeful Pages’ next (and final) installment next Saturday, and some book-related things, you may not see me around as much for a few weeks. But I’ll be back!

And by the way, to all of you who have been encouraging me in my writing, telling me my posts are beautiful, or encouraging, or amazing, or inspiring – a million thank yous, to every single one of you. I’m floored, everyone. Absolutely floored. To think I’ve found my own unique voice in a world of noise just breathes life into my soul. This blog has been reaching more people, so many of you have been sharing my posts, and to all of you who sometimes read, to all of you who get the posts in your inboxes, and to all of you who don’t tend to comment – thank you so much, as well. For reading, for listening to my voice when there’s a world of others to hear, for just being there. Your support means the world to me.