Following is a guest blog post by my friend Ralph Nault:
Being satisfied is a wonderful thing. Pauline and I are very blessed because we are satisfied with what we have. We do not have a lot by worldly measure, but we do have everything we need.
Does having everything you need satisfy you? Then what more do you need? The spirit of the world is very active, and it keeps telling you that you need more. If you pay attention to it, you will never be satisfied.
The spirit of the world draws on all your base feelings and emotions. These feelings and emotions feed all our natural, fleshly, carnal emotions. They control us for many years of our lives, until we become spiritual men and women and are able to overcome them through our spirit with the Helper, the Holy Spirit.
Many things I have done in my life did not bring me satisfaction. I now realize satisfaction is important. What is it that truly brings me to that place? One of the things is doing my best in any given situation. Another is doing what is right. We seem to know when we have done our best.
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He shall see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One, My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him], For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins. (Isaiah 53:11, Amplified Bible)
Satisfaction does not always come easily; at times it can be very difficult to do what is right or what is best. We live in the age of quick fix. I think of the statement we used to hear often in the sixties: Mother, I can do it by myself. There are many people who are not satisfied; the turmoil in our country and the world show that.
At one point in my life I wanted to escape. I had a family and was loaded with debt and couldn’t see any way out. I put my house up for sale and would almost give it away so I could run away. I never received one offer! Now I realize the Lord was involved, and He was saying “no more running.” I had to face the future and work things out.
As far as I can see for America, the government is trying to do God’s work and is not able to. I am not an enemy of our government; there is a place and work for it. But it is not to be God!
If we put our total dependence on the people we put in Washington, we are foolish. We must place a certain amount of reliance on ourselves and our own accomplishments, if we ever want to be satisfied with who and what we are. We must learn to think and reason for ourselves, and not allow others to do our thinking for us.
I wonder if those brave souls who left England on a small boat to come to America were satisfied? What about the ones who bought a wagon and headed West? Were they satisfied?
What will satisfy your soul? By Ralph Nault