What Defines Us?

When God breathed a soul into human flesh, He separated us from all other beings, giving us a sense of destiny, a need for meaning in our existence. In so doing, He guaranteed we would be drawn to something greater, more inimitable than our humanity affords.

Almighty God, who was and is and is to come, instills in each of us a longing that can only be fulfilled in seeking first His kingdom. He promises one day we'll hear Him say: "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34).

But the pride of life compels us to conclude that we are our own destiny. Slogans are every where that reflect this attitude: Just Do It, Have it Your Way, Break All the Rules. As self-made women and men, we glory in our achievements, and take comfort in our status in mans eye on this earth. And most of that achievement and status is measured by what we possess.

Eternity is not in our vocabulary as we determine to prove ourselves, and obtain the applause of men.

Messages from the media assure us hundreds of times a day that we can be a little better than we are. The lie that our homes, our cars, our careers, our clothes, and even our physical appearance defines our destiny, keeps many of us restless

We must consider our ways.


When the Israelites were settled safely back in their homeland after years of captivity, they began to enjoy unique prosperity. But all was not well. Through the prophet Haggai, God painted a graphic picture of their real condition:
"Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?" Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Consider your ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes." (Haggai 1:4-6, NASB)

As with the Israelites who neglected the temple, we may be starving our souls while stuffing our selves with the treasures of this world. We must consider our ways.

What do our deepest longings and daily drives tell us about the condition of our souls? Are we settling for toys and empty experiences when the unfathomable, God bids us taste and see that He is good? Are we building a kingdom destined for destruction, when a city awaits us whose architect and builder is God Himself?

God has been dealing with me concerning loosing weight. My mother was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years ago and she told me to be careful of what I ate. I was addicted to the candy, DOTS. I would eat them morning noon and night. I also would use 7 packs of sugar in my coffee every day. Every where I turned someone would say, you need to cut back on your sugar intake. Of course this irritated me to no end because I needed that sugar. I relied on that sugar as a booster to my emotions.

One morning I was lead to read Jeremiah 2:12-13. What in the world did I do that for? When I read that scripture there wasn't any excuse left for me.

God was calling the heavens (the stars, suns, moons, planets, and galaxies)to be appalled and desolate because His people (Me) have forsaken Him, the Fountain of Living Waters, hew out for ourselves (Me), cisterns. Not just any kind of old cisterns but broken ones that can hold no water.

Now if that is not enough to give us pause I don't know what is.

Broken cisterns are the idols of our heart that we use to feed our starving souls.

He led me to another scripture, Psalms 81:10 " I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the Land of Egypt;
OPEN YOUR MOUTH WIDE AND I WILL FILL IT".

He said in the next verse " But My people would not heed My voice"

What might be the broken cisterns we run to? What are we feeding our souls?

It could be reading several hours a day, hours upon hours of television, listening to music, shopping, sports, volunteering, church ministry, working long hours,or just plain busyness.

Whatever it might be we need to determine for a time to give it up. Instead of rushing to fill up the empty places we need to wait on the voice of the Lord.
We are desperately needy and may not even know it. We have turned to broken cisterns instead of turning to our Father and the only way out of this bondage is through repentance.

There is only one guarantee of fulfillment and that is our all-satisfying God who ever live to fill us with the knowledge of Himself.
Because He is our Shepherd, we shall not want. Daily He sets before us the bounty of His goodness. He promises we'll never hunger or thirst again. This is the secret of being content with what we have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU" (Hebrews 13:5).

So let us not settle for anything else!!


Candace House

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