10Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
The question at the root of our study in the sermon series we are currently in, Pointless, is “What is ‘enough’ for us, and when will we have achieved it?” If we look for satisfaction in the things of this world, the truth is that “enough” will never be enough. We will find ourselves on a lifelong quest for satisfaction that will ultimately end in vain. You see, nothing in this world will ever satisfy us. Only God will fill our searching, aching hearts. When we find our satisfaction in Him, we will come to understand that we have enough because we have Him.
Solomon came to learn the futility of searching for satisfaction, trying to achieve “enough,” and he wrote about it all throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. For example, he sought after wealth and found it meaningless. He wrote about the futility of wealth and searching to achieve “enough” in Ecclesiastes 5, saying, “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!” (verses 10-11). What a strong statement from Solomon. “Those who love money will never have enough,” he concluded. For those who believe achieving wealth will leave them satisfied, they will be on a never-ending pursuit because they will never actually achieve “enough.” Make no mistake, money never, ever satisfies us. It will leave us empty every single time.
Anytime we pursue things of this earth—wealth, possessions, popularity—thinking we’ll have “enough” once we get them, we come up empty. “Enough” is never enough apart from Christ. The Psalmist of Psalm 107 understood that only God can satisfy the human heart. In this Psalm, he wrote, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever” (verse 1). He then continued to name reasons to praise God. As he named reasons to praise God, He wrote, “He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (verse 9). God is the only One who can satisfy our hearts. Everything else leaves us still hungry and thirsty.
Have you found yourself in a constant pursuit of more and more, believing that when you achieve “enough,” you will be satisfied? My friend, God is with you today, and as a result, you have enough. Will you look to Him and Him alone to satisfy your longing heart?
Moving toward action
Set a five-minute timer. Make a list of all of the ways God has provided you with “enough” this week. Let His provision be a reminder that you have a God who takes care of His people, and because you have Him, you have enough. After all, in Him you have everything you need.
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray.
“God, in You, I have all I need. I thank you for…”
Going deeper
Book Five (Psalms 107–150)
1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
3For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
from east and west,
from north and south.[1]
4Some wandered in the wilderness,
lost and homeless.
5Hungry and thirsty,
they nearly died.
6“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he rescued them from their distress.
7He led them straight to safety,
to a city where they could live.
8Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
9For he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
10Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom,
imprisoned in iron chains of misery.
11They rebelled against the words of God,
scorning the counsel of the Most High.
12That is why he broke them with hard labor;
they fell, and no one was there to help them.
13“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom;
he snapped their chains.
15Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
16For he broke down their prison gates of bronze;
he cut apart their bars of iron.
17Some were fools; they rebelled
and suffered for their sins.
18They couldn’t stand the thought of food,
and they were knocking on death’s door.
19“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death.
21Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
22Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and sing joyfully about his glorious acts.
23Some went off to sea in ships,
plying the trade routes of the world.
24They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action,
his impressive works on the deepest seas.
25He spoke, and the winds rose,
stirring up the waves.
26Their ships were tossed to the heavens
and plunged again to the depths;
the sailors cringed in terror.
27They reeled and staggered like drunkards
and were at their wits’ end.
28“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
29He calmed the storm to a whisper
and stilled the waves.
30What a blessing was that stillness
as he brought them safely into harbor!
31Let them praise the Lord for his great love
and for the wonderful things he has done for them.
32Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation
and before the leaders of the nation.
33He changes rivers into deserts,
and springs of water into dry, thirsty land.
34He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands,
because of the wickedness of those who live there.
35But he also turns deserts into pools of water,
the dry land into springs of water.
36He brings the hungry to settle there
and to build their cities.
37They sow their fields, plant their vineyards,
and harvest their bumper crops.
38How he blesses them!
They raise large families there,
and their herds of livestock increase.
39When they decrease in number and become impoverished
through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
40the Lord pours contempt on their princes,
causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
41But he rescues the poor from trouble
and increases their families like flocks of sheep.
42The godly will see these things and be glad,
while the wicked are struck silent.
43Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.
Translation notes (1)
- 107:3 Hebrew and sea.
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