Psalm 145:16: Seeking God, Not Happiness

Psalm 145:16 "You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing."

"'Seek God, not happiness'--this is the fundamental rule of all meditation. If you seek God alone, you will gain happiness: that is the promise." - Bonhoeffer

When's the last time you looked for happiness in something other that God? Perhaps you looked for happiness in a relationship, in a grade, in a job, or a certain circumstance. Although none of these things are implicitly sinful, we must realize that ultimate happiness only comes from God himself.

Psalm 145:16 puts it this way: "You [God] satisfy the desire of every living thing." The Psalmist tells us here that God is the satisfaction for everthing that breathes, and nothing else. No relationship, grade, job, or any other circumstance can satisfy us because we were made to be satisfied in God and God alone. Those who go searching for satisfaction in other areas will only be lost until they find the Lord. They may think they find it for a moment, but they will soon feel dry again, and pass on to the very next thing for which they attempt to gain happiness.

Let us look at a secular example of this. Many who follow sports consider winning the Super Bowl to be the greatest achievement of all time. If one can climb to the top of the NFL and win a Super Bowl, it shows incredible athleticism that is almost unprecedented. However, after obtaining his third Super Bowl ring, Tom Brady said this in an interview: "There's got to be more than this."* After obtaining the highest honor in the NFL possible three times, Brady was still not satisfied. Now Brady has six Super Bowl rings, and I guarantee you he still feels the same way, because he's looking for his happines in achievements instead of Christ.

So, where are you today? Are you seeking happiness in worldly things, or in God alone? Let me encourage you, dear brother or sister, that happiness is only found in the Lord. Look to him today for your happiness. Amen.

*Following this statement, the reporter asked him "What's the answer?" Brady's reply: "I wish I knew." Tom Brady's answer is Christ. (Link)