What do you want? Really. What do you want? Right now. If you could have anything, what would it be?

Think it over for a minute.

More money? Bigger house? Newer car? More sex? Children that obey? Peace and quiet? A nap? A vacation? A drink? A better job? God? Healing? Freedom? Someone to love?

When it comes right down to it, what we all want is satisfaction, the fulfillment of a need or want.

Isn’t that what we really want…our needs and wants fulfilled? Satisfaction.

Finding satisfaction is the tricky part. It seems so elusive. The things we thought would satisfy us, really didn’t. In many cases, we got what we wanted, we felt better for awhile, but the feeling didn’t last. We were still unsatisfied.

No matter how good the food or drink or sex or house or car or vacation or whatever…it doesn’t ultimately satisfy. If we don’t understand what’s happening, we will continue to seek more of those things in search of satisfaction. We think if we could just have a bigger house, another vacation, sex with someone else, more money…the list goes on…then we’d finally be satisfied.

The book of Ecclesiastes details Solomon’s search for satisfaction. In chapter 2, King Solomon says: I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.”

Later in the chapter, Solomon says: I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure….

That probably wasn’t such a good idea, because 1 Kings 11:1 (from The Message) says, “King Solomon was obsessed with women.” To say he was obsessed may seem like an exaggeration, but remember this is the guy who had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Yeah, he was obsessed.

His obsession resulted in his foreign wives turning his heart away from God. He built altars so his wives could worship their foreign gods. The consequences were huge. After his death, the nation of Israel was divided. It was never the same.

A pursuit of pleasure never leads to satisfaction. It leads only to obsession or addiction. Call it whatever you want.

Satisfaction is possible though. Matthew 5:6 said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

In the very next chapter, Jesus also said:

So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat? or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans [those who don’t even know God] run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Ultimate pleasure and satisfaction are found in Jesus. When we seek Him first, He meets our needs and gives us good gifts to enjoy. Food and drink and sex, within the boundaries of God’s will, are pleasures to be enjoyed. Seeking the gifts or the pleasure doesn’t result in satisfaction, only in obsession and addiction.

What are you seeking today? Are you obsessed with anything?

If you’re looking for satisfaction apart from Jesus, then you may be on the same path Solomon was on. Your search may lead to an obsession that will ultimately lead to ruin.

Our only hope is to believe the truth…that we find true satisfaction in Jesus alone.