We have been socialized by people and processes that teach us to pursue getting more. In the process of getting more, we can forget, devalue, or take for granted who and what we have. Discontentment is driven by “more” messages, feelings of inadequacy, and insecurity. When our primary attachment is to something that we can lose, we cling to it or try to pursue getting more of what we believe will make us feel more content or secure. And we live in a world where someone is always trying to get us to buy or pursue what we don’t have.
If we walk together on your well-traveled roads and share stories that have shaped chapters and years of your life, what drove you to pursue more? More education. More knowledge. More skills. More power. More strength. More people. More money. More approval. More protection. More security. More comfort. More pleasure. More love. More peace. When we travel together, we may come to places where you have dug your heels into the ground because you were so determined to get what you didn’t have. Sometimes it wasn’t even attainable. Sometimes getting more made you less content with what you had. Sometimes your pursuit caused you to collide with God, with yourself, and with others. Was it worth it? If we travel long enough together down the roads of more, they can lead to dead ends.
The pursuit of more of anything that this world has to offer never brings us the peace and contentment that we long for. Being driven to know more, do more, be more, or own more can drive you and others crazy. Endless striving for more of what we don’t have steals our peace. Living by this world’s “more” messages and rules of engagement will hijack our peace, steal our joy, and leave us along the road wondering why we ever even got on this road in the first place. What do we really gain by pursuing more if we sacrifice our souls, our loved ones, our health, or our peace?
When you get tired of pursuing more and realize the road signs that got you here were all lies, I want to invite you to collapse into the arms of Jesus. He’s been waiting all along for you to get off of the “More Road.” He’s sent you so many signs and people and pain and feelings so that you would recognize that more is actually less. But stubbornness and pride and fear and feelings of inadequacy can wear out your tires, your engine, and cloud your vision to the place where you don’t even know who you are, where you are, or how you got there. Jesus knows exactly who you are, where you are, and what you need. He offers you abundant life—more than you can ever imagine—and it’s securely attached to an ongoing relationship with Him, your Creator, Sustainer, and Giver of everything that you have or long for.
It took me forty-one years of driving and striving for more until I finally gave in and surrendered to a love that finally led to true peace. God’s love is perfect and endless. It satisfies the deepest longings that we have. God’s love is patient and kind. It doesn’t keep track of any of our mistakes. It isn’t easily angered. It delights in the truth. It always hopes and always believes. It never fails.
If you are completely worn out from striving, driving, and working yourself ragged in your pursuit of more, I invite you to get off of your treadmill or dead-end road to more. Jesus loves you amidst all of your pursuits, but He’s the only One who can satisfy you, give you peace, and help you find contentment. Power, love, and wisdom come when you walk and travel with Jesus. His love and truth will set you free.
If today’s blog stirred you, I invite you to go for a drive to Old Psalm 90 Road. Once you find it, stop and let the Lord fill up your tank. If you’re compelled to drive on to find peace and contentment, head north on Route Philippians 4. Along the way, if you end up at Confession Clearing on Repentance Road, you’re probably on the right path. If you’re too busy to slow down and head down a road less traveled, you’re too busy. Maybe you need to do more until you realize more will never be enough.