‘They have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!’ Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

Let’s take a moment to understand some reasons for our discontent:

(1) Looking for happiness in the wrong places. God said: ‘My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned Me—the fountain of living water. And they dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!’ There is an emptiness inside you that only God can fill, and He will, if you invite Him in.

(2) Failure to serve others. How we treat others is often a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. Philosopher Eric Hoffer said: ‘The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbour as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant towards others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves. It is not only love of self but hatred of self which is at the root of the troubles that afflict our world.’

(3) Comparing ourselves with others. Paul writes, ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice.’ (Romans 12:15 NIV) When you resent someone else’s achievements or level of blessing, joy quickly drains out of your life. The Bible says: ‘Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.’ (Romans 12:4–6 NLT)

SoulFood: 2 Chron 32–34, John 12:37–50, Ps 146, Pro 28:9–12

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©