Have you ever had the thought, I can't wait until _____________________ ? You can fill in the blank with whatever you'd like. I can't wait until I get that graduate, I can't wait until I get that job, I can't wait until I get that promotion, I can't wait until I meet that somebody, I can't wait until I get married, I can't wait until I can buy that house, I can't wait until I have that kid, I can't wait until I have the next kid, I can't wait until I get that car, I can't wait until I get to go on that trip, I can't wait until I can retire, I can't wait until I'm feeling better, I can't wait until I lose that weight...
I can't wait until______________________.
What is your thing? It is human nature for us all to be looking forward to the next thing. It seems to be hard wired into us, and the cycle starts as soon as we hit the next plateau. We are constantly chasing down the next thing in hope's of finding some level of satisfaction from it, when in reality what we end up finding is lingering discontentment, and the desire for more.
Jimmy Evans describes it this way, "we work and work and work and work until it [whatever your it may be] becomes stable and then we take it for granted..." We put so much effort and energy into pursuing it, believing that it has the power and the ability to not only bring satisfaction into our lives, but also stabilization.
We have long bought into the lie that it has the incredible power to make everything alright, but what we discover is that our own nature betrays us, and almost as soon as we get it, we become disappointed, realizing that it was never all it was cracked up to be, and what we once thought to be a stabilizing force now becomes something of an instability in and of itself.
One of the reasons why we find ourselves so discontented and disappointed about these milestones is because we simply take them for granted. Think of all of the effort that you put into achieving that goal. Think of the blood, sweat and tears, think of the sacrifices that you made to reach where you are today. There is no power in any of these achievements, they are in fact a hollow shell, but what is real is our desire to be grateful. We can be grateful that we have the ability to work, to create, to achieve, that we have the ability to have a family or have kids or to even have a place to call your own where you can lay your head at night. These achievements aren't meaningless, they just aren't deeply satisfying, because accolades, achievements, or milestones are simply road markers for the journey, they are not the journey itself.
I will take it one step further, I believe that one will never find true contentment or satisfaction outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ. He made us, he created us, we are made in his image, and we were always intended to have a relationship with him, and humanity will also be left with a longing, with a desire for more... because God has placed eternity in the hearts of every man.
So today, let's be grateful. Let's be thankful. Let's celebrate where we are, and recognize that their is more ahead, but it's the people and the relationships with them that give us greater meaning, not the achievements in and of themselves.
Brett Esslinger is a Husband, Dad, Son, Brother, Pastor, Speaker, Leader, Writer whose life goal is to help people unlock their potential and fulfill their life's purpose.
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