from Pastor Jeremy

Every New Year I like to take some time to reflect on the past year and think about the coming one. It is a great, natural intersection to be able to determine whether it’s time for a change of direction or safe to keep cruising. Also, it gives those of us without natural discipline an excuse to look around and say, “oh, I’m fat,” or, “I haven’t read my Bible in two months,” and then a chance to recalculate our direction.

As I was remembering 2009, I couldn’t help but think what a hard year it has been for many. A disproportionate amount of people I know lost jobs or income or loved ones, and all of us were confronted with significant changes in the economy and government. All these changes seemed to offer clarity to some and discontent to others. I just couldn’t get away from the thought that we are all continually seeking satisfaction. Whether man or woman, young or old, white or black, rich or poor, we are all pursuing some form of satisfaction daily. We have pursued this goal through every channel imaginable. We may seek it from food or from exercise, from relationships or from solitude, from accumulation or from simplicity. And every year, when we get to this natural crossroad, it seems to me that we resolve to pursue the opposite of what we’ve currently been doing that hasn’t been satisfying us. While we hope that the opposite will bring satisfaction, this usually results in one of three things. We end up dizzy from the chase of another failed attempt, defeated by the reality that we can’t sustain our efforts, or extremely disappointed that, when we get to the other side of the fence and after all our labors, it didn’t provide what we were really looking for.

One of the first passages I read in my Bible this year was Psalm 104, where David talks about how all creation, even the earth and the animals, were created with the need to be satisfied. In verse 28 he says, “…when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.” I believe that we were meant, as humans, to find satisfaction, even in the small intricacies of life – through food and through exercise, through relationships and through solitude, through nature and music. However, when we pursue these things as primary instead of secondary, as the main course instead of side dishes or spices, they will leave us worn out and very unsatisfied. Jesus says in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Do you want satisfaction this year? Pursue the thing that will fill you. Pursue Jesus. Tired of New Year’s resolutions? Maybe you have been resolving to pursue the wrong thing. Turn the main course back into Jesus and see how much flavor the spices can add. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Happy New Year! I hope it is one of great satisfaction!

Posted in Pastors Blog