Do You Have a Soul?
“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” Isaiah 55:2
Have you ever wondered why there is so much pain in the world? Have you ever been in a crowd of people, but felt lonely? Why is it that the deepest things this life has to offer, do not satisfy us?
Isaiah 55 asked those same questions! Here is another question for you. Do you believe that you have a soul – a part that is deeper than everyone sees? It’s something more than your physical structure. It’s deeper; it’s personality, longings, desires.
If you believe you have a soul, how are you feeding it? What do you do to feed your soul? My degree was in sociology. Not exactly one that will find you a job, but it did teach me a lot about people.
One thing I learned is that there are two main things deep down that humans desire. That is 1) love and security – we want to feel secure/have relationship. And 2) Significance and impact – we want to feel we are significant.
John chapter four recounts a story of Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman drawing water at a well. He asks her the same type of questions. “Why are you drinking of a water that will never quench your thirst? Why are you trying to find satisfaction in one relationship after another? The reason you are still thirsty is because these relationships won’t satisfy you – they might for a little while, but soon you will feel that longing again in your soul.”
What are the things in your life that you are counting on to feed YOUR soul? Achievements? Academics? Relationships? Friendships? Boyfriends? Athletics? Popularity? Material Possessions? It could any number of things. None of these are necessarily bad desires.
But whatever it is that you reach out and grab hold of as the center of your life – whatever makes you feel important and secure – becomes your god. And it could be that you are feeding your soul from an empty well.
The reality is that if we draw from any other well other than the well of the living water of Jesus Christ, we are drawing from a well that is broken and cannot be fixed. So back to our original question… Why is it that the deepest things this life has to offer do not satisfy us? The answer is BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T CREATED TO!
You were not created to be satisfied with things of this earth. You were created to be filled up completely by the relationship of the One who made you. It is only in Him that your soul be quenched.