Outward problems come from inner issues

John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”

Today in my readings, I kept circling back to this idea: If we are unsatisfied with the life that we are living on the outside, chances are that the problems originate from what life looks like on the inside. 

I look around at culture today and I see a lot of people that are unsatisfied with life. Frankly, I even fall into the trap occasionally. The reason I know that they are unsatisfied is because of the quick fix culture that we are in. 

I want to lose weight fast. 

I want to make money today. 

I want to have freedom soon. 

I want to be successful quickly. 

I want that dream now.

Everything is done at a rapid pace. What does that pace communicate? It means that people want to escape their current existence as fast as humanly possible. The only reason that you would react and respond that way is if you currently were unsatisfied about what your life looks like. 

My take on this as I have thought about it today is this… even if you lost that weight, made that money, had that freedom, were successful, or even were “living the dream” there would still be a sense of longing for something different. Are any of those things bad? No, absolutely not. However they don’t solve the core issue that is occurring. You might be finding an answer, but like me in my Chemistry class in High School, it’s the wrong answer. 

It goes back to that scripture that I posted at the top… If we are living for the glory that we gain from others, then we aren’t really believing in what God can do for our lives and then experiencing HIS glory. Thus that leads to the dissatisfaction that we were previously mentioning. Looking like you are successful and satisfied doesn’t mean that you are actually successful and satisfied. 

I love how Former NFL Head Coach Tony Dungy worded this in his devotional, “You can try to change your behavior and discipline yourself to change, and you can do it with some success. But real change happens deep down inside.” 

What’s deep down on the inside and can cure our issues? A belief in what God is doing in your life. Anything other than that is going to lead us to wanting more. 

I don’t know what your position is as you are reading this. You may be a teacher, a pastor, a volunteer, a firefighter - whatever you do with your life know this… God wants to do something MASSIVE in your life. He wants to shake you to your core by allowing you to experience His glory. Once you experience that because of a moment of belief - life changes. Your belief, your seeking, your joy comes from him. Not anything that is shown on the outside, but what is experienced on the inside.