Many people complain about everything. And they’re often rightly viewed as adult toddlers that simply want life to work perfectly on their terms. But these examples of immaturity shouldn’t cause us to grow complacent or otherwise deny our deep desires for more. There is a place for holy dissatisfaction.
To be sure, eternity has been woven into our hearts and part of us intuitively longs for the restoration of all good things. It’s like part of us remembers the perfection of Eden even as we ache with an eager anticipation for the new Jerusalem.
But in our daily lives these desires often get projected onto our jobs and houses, our relationships and our next vacation – the finite things of this life. And much of this is natural, and perhaps even good.
All the same, the fear of appearing immature with our desires often causes us to kill them. And in the name of contentment we’ve actually become complacent.
Holy dissatisfaction is the reminder there’s more to life than what we’ve often settled for, and to fight for the fullness of joy that is available. At the same time, it’s keeping things in proper perspective and not demanding fulfillment on our timeline, or on our terms. It’s an ache that simply reminds us of the more.
For instance, in marriage this might be the disappointment that our relationship is not yet living up to God’s divine ideals, or that our sex life currently remains lackluster. The dissatisfaction is not the result of mere unrealistic expectations, but rather a deep knowing that God intended more for us in these areas.
Of course, we don’t use this dissatisfaction to blame or make demands of our wife. Instead we see it as an opportunity and invitation to keep discovering the more. And we miss the depth and richness available when we don’t allow our holy dissatisfactions to keep driving us forward.
In the end, Christ desires to give you life to the full. Let your holy dissatisfactions drive you to him – neither becoming demanding nor complacent with the desires he has given you.
Photo by Martin Péchy on Unsplash
