Looking For Lasting Satisfaction

Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.
–Genesis 13:10

One of the greatest illustrations of a Special K Christian, somebody who focuses on long-term satisfaction rather than short-term fixes, is Abraham in the Old Testament. He had a holy hunger for more in his relationship with God, and he died satisfied in his relationship with God. Look at Genesis 25:8: “Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man satisfied with life.” I cannot think of a better epitaph than that!

What produced that satisfaction in Abraham’s life? Let’s look at an episode in Genesis 13 that demonstrates Abraham’s pursuit of long-term satisfaction. Verse 1 says, “Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.” Lot was Abraham’s nephew. The story continues, “Their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together” (v. 6). The land was not big enough to sustain both their herds, and verse 7 says it was causing strife between their herdsmen. So Abraham said to Lot, “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left” (v. 9).

Why was Abraham willing to let Lot have the first pick of the land? The reasons illustrate the difference between a Special K Christian and a Krispy Kreme Christian.

For one thing, the Special K Christian has a greater purpose in life. You see, our lives are either God-focused or self-focused. Our lives are either about meeting a need in others or about filling a greed in ourselves. For Krispy Kreme Christians, life is all about themselves. It is the old philosophy “Get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the can.” That was Lot. He was already wealthy, but he wanted more. Verse 10 says, “Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.” That word translated as “saw” means to gaze with longing in your heart. When Lot looked out over that land, he thought, “If only I could have that piece of land, then I would truly have everything I need in life.”

Do you know the greatest enemy of satisfaction? It is what I call the oasis syndrome–the belief that happiness is somewhere other than where I am right now. It is thinking, “If only I had that job or that house or that amount of money, then I would truly be satisfied.” But the oasis is a mirage that will always out-distance you. Once you get there, you find out it is still a little bit farther down the road. Lot was looking for the oasis because his whole purpose was immediate self-gratification. But Abraham had a greater purpose in life.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Becoming A Special K Christian In A Krispy Kreme World” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2011.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.