Happiness At What Cost?

JEREMIAH 2


Poor Jeremiah! Having a job of “bearer of bad news” is not something he meant to sign up for but somebody had to do it. Israel was defiant, out of line, and outright a brat. To be given so much from such a loving God and yet forsake Him so they may fulfill the desires of their evil hearts, it sounds appalling. Why? Were they ignorant? They surely had more brains than to do something like that.

Oh what the all-enticing sin can do to mankind! We read this and think it insane and how we would never do such a thing. Right! Unfortunately we fall prey to it more than we would want to admit. We want and want and want and when we don’t get then the whole world hears of it.

I don’t think Israel intended to rebel against God. Their goal wasn’t to set out and disobey in every way they could. They were just like us, wanting to satisfy their desires of earthly things, wanting to be happy. We all want happiness. It’s who we are. It’s who God made us to be. But at what cost?

Israel had allowed themselves to be so consumed with their desires that when they didn’t get what they wanted they told God, “I will not serve you!” (2:20), at least until they were in trouble. Verse 27 says that they turned their backs to God then yelled, “Come and save us!” when it suited them. God help the tongue that shouts both blessing and cursing.

What caught my attention in this chapter was in verse 36. It says: Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria. Israel was in such disarray that if they couldn’t be satisfied in one land they went on to another hoping to find what they were looking for. God told them that they would be disappointed. It wasn’t their location that was causing their dissatisfaction. It was their hearts.

We tend to busy ourselves searching endlessly for something to fill the voids in our lives or something that will make us happy at the moment. If it’s not this store then we move on to another. If it’s not this town, we move on to another. If it’s not this marriage, we move on to another. If it’s not this church, we move on to another. The problem is that when we move we take with us the issue that dissatisfied us in the last land…US! We are the problem.

Who can satisfy us better than God? We need to stop running around looking for answers. I will save you a lot of energy by this one step: Stop and focus. If we put our hope for happiness in things that are not eternal we will never stop running. Eventually we will get tired and give up. It is only God who satisfies eternally.

Refocus and He will give you the desires of your heart, if your heart is right with Him.