Desk of Dennis Piller
2/14/2022
Valentines Day – Who meets your deepest needs?
Courageous Meets tonight. 7PM
We had a great teaching at our Couples Group on Tuesday by Jimmy Evans. He asked, “Who meets your deepest needs”? In other words, on a daily basis, on whom do you rely on the most and to whom do you go first to get your deepest needs met?
We spend our lives trying to get these needs met by a variety of sources, including ourselves, spouses, friends, children, careers, churches, parents, God, money, material possessions—and any combination of these things.
All human beings seek satisfaction for four basic needs:
Acceptance (knowing we’re loved and needed by others). We all want to be special and accepted for who we are even though we may not even know who we are yet.
Identity (knowing we are individually significant). Most of us carry a fear of rejection in some form from our earlier years. Many search for a lifetime for their identity but always in the wrong places. We will only find that in Jesus himself.
Security (knowing we are protected and provided for), We will only be secure in God. I can’t tell you how many times I have let myself down let alone other people.
Purpose (knowing we have a reason for living). Some gauge that by the career they choose, the money they earn or the person they marry.
I know what I’m supposed to answer. I’m supposed to say that God, or Jesus, meets my deepest needs. What is your real-life, true answer? Hey, it's only you and God, let's be truthful. ________________
You’re correct, of course. The problem is that most people cannot honestly give that answer. We want a “quicker and surer” method for satisfaction. Many move from job to job and place to place seeking fulfillment. Or we get married and expect our spouses to do for us what only Jesus can do. We look for our families and children to meet our needs.
But these are only diversions. They never satisfy. Only God can.
Many marriages end in disillusionment they expect the other to meet their deepest needs. When we discover we can’t fill that cup we look to transfer it to other people or places. (some of which are very dark). We get discouraged, and cynicism comes along with disillusionment and so we keep looking for another place to put that need. Each one is a slippery slope away from God.
The trouble begins when this doesn’t happen. And ends with this kicker:
"It never will happen." Never. So one becomes bitter. When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan women at the well, she thought that 5 men of her past had let her down. She expected them to give her what they couldn’t give. No one can give that!. In effect, we transfer hope to a person other than God.
In John 6:35, Jesus said to the women, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus has the ability to give us spiritual food and drink to satisfy our inner longings. He invites us to come to Him for true fulfillment and promises us complete satisfaction if we seek him.
So let’s ask the question again: Who meets your deepest needs? How you answer may determine not just your spiritual health,
but also the health of your marriage.
Where do you go with a personal problem? A person? The web? A shopping spree, what or where do you go?
Can I ask where is your trust in God? The truth is we need hope and encouragement every day. When I get out of sorts… my wife says, “you have issues”. I know I do, but I want to go to the only place to be healed and encouraged. To Jesus himself. He fills me, accepts me in all of my ugliness. He gives me a true identity. He tells me I can be secure in him and that my life's purpose is in him alone.
So who meets your deepest needs? How you answer may determine not just your spiritual health but also the health of your marriage. When I wake up with God on my lips, I am a better person. Ask my wife…she knows. How about you?
The 23rd psalm calls us to see that our very souls have deep needs that must be met and can only be met by God. Our souls need what David needed and what every person needs: a satisfied soul.
David writes about this: “Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them.”Psalms 107:5 “For He satisfies the longing soul, And fills the hungry soul with goodness.” Psalms 107:9
Hallelujah I am not https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OlMGnPUAdw
Psalm 23 (I Am Not Alone)
