By nature, we are driven to find fulfillment. That’s the bottom line in most of our decisions. We approach almost every situation with an unstated litmus test. Will that person fulfill me? Will this job fulfill me? Will that house, that location, that environment fulfill me? Would something else fulfill me more? We are relentless machines in search of satisfaction.
Jesus gave a surprising promise to his followers. If you lay that search down—just abandon the quest, without knowing what will happen—and turn your attention only to him, he will take you to places of fulfillment you never expected. Or, in his words: If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it (Luke 17:33 nlt). It’s an unnerving thought, somewhat like jumping out of a burning building and hoping a net will catch you. But his promise is that it will.
When you have given your life back to God, your desperate search for fulfillment is no longer on your to-do list. It’s on his. It’s a streamlined way to live, very simple. Not easy, but simple. And it’s an enormous relief for those of us who spend all our energy looking for the life that satisfies.
