When We Stop Chasing More

I don't know about you, but I often struggle with misusing many of the good things God has placed in this world. Food, work, hobbies and even sleep can become unhealthy focuses for me. And if I'm being honest, the list could go on.

I believe God gives us these things for our good. They are gifts from a loving Father who knows exactly what we need. He not only provides them, but also establishes healthy boundaries around them so they can be enjoyed as He intended. Yet despite knowing this, I often find myself drifting toward excess or giving something more attention, value, or importance than it deserves.

There have been seasons when I've lived within those healthy boundaries, and during those times I've experienced the freedom, peace, and joy that come from trusting God's design. I've seen firsthand why the balance He calls us to is so important. Yet even knowing that, I still find myself tempted to believe that more will somehow satisfy me when God's provision has already been enough.

Maybe that's why Proverbs 3:5-6 resonates so deeply with me: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

The struggle isn't usually that I don't know what God says. The struggle is whether I trust that His way is actually better than my own.

A few years ago, I went through a season of significant health challenges. It was a difficult time filled with symptoms, uncertainty, and countless appointments as I traveled from doctor to doctor searching for answers and healing. As the months went on, simply getting out of bed, especially after a sleepless night, wasn't always easy.  Believe it or not, during that season I learned something truly life changing.

I'm a big fan of Brené Brown, and while listening to one of her podcasts, she talked about what it means to practice gratitude. She emphasized that gratitude isn't merely a feeling. It's a daily, tangible behavior. It's something joyful people intentionally practice, inviting joy into their lives through consistent focus on what is good.  So I started small.

I bought a gratitude journal and made a commitment. Every morning, before starting my day, I would write down three things I was thankful for, no matter how small they seemed. Maybe it was the sun shining brightly through my window, the bird singing outside, or simply the few hours of sleep I had managed to get the night before.  And friends, what happened next was amazing.

Those blessings didn't remain on the page. Throughout the day, they seemed to multiply. The good things that God was placing in my path suddenly became impossible to miss.

I remember one morning after an especially difficult night. I had barely slept. Every time I looked at the clock, another hour had slipped by. By the time my alarm went off, my body felt heavy, my stomach churned, and I was already exhausted by the thought of the day ahead. I had an early flight to Connecticut for work, and honestly, I wasn't sure I had the energy for it.

As I sat on the edge of my bed with my gratitude journal, thankfulness wasn't what came naturally. Complaining would have been much easier. But I wrote my three things anyway. A warm bed. A job I loved. The simple fact that God had carried me through another day.

The result was…little blessings started appearing everywhere.

At the airport, I found out I had been moved to a better seat. It wasn't a life-changing event, but it felt like a small reminder from God: I see you.  Later, on my connecting flight, I managed to fall asleep for a short nap. For someone who had spent most of the night staring at the ceiling, those few minutes of rest felt like a gift.  When I landed, two coworkers I genuinely enjoyed spending time with were waiting for me. Their laughter, encouragement, and companionship gave me energy I didn't have when I started the day.

The funny thing is that none of my circumstances had really changed. I was still dealing with the same health issues. I still didn't have answers. I still wasn't feeling well. But my attention had changed. Instead of looking for reasons that the day would be difficult, I had started looking for evidence of God's goodness. And once I started looking, I saw it everywhere.

What I discovered was simple but profound: when we focus on the negative, we will always find more negativity. But the opposite is also true. When we focus on the goodness of God and the gifts He places before us, we begin to notice how present those gifts have been all along.  God's heart for us is good. His desire for us is joy.

That doesn't mean every circumstance will be easy or that only good things will happen. Life in a fallen world is still hard. But even on our most difficult days, God is present, and there are still evidences of His grace if we choose to look for them.

This leads me to an important question: Why are we so often dissatisfied with what God has given us?  Why do we so easily believe that what we have is not enough, or even that God Himself is not enough?

If He loves us enough to create and provide so many good gifts, why do we often feel compelled to push beyond the boundaries He has established for them? Why do we overuse, misuse, or abuse His gifts instead of simply enjoying them with gratitude?

God is good.  He is good to us.  And because He is good, the gifts He gives are good as well.

Food, intimacy within marriage, friendship, community, rest, and recreation. These are all gifts from a loving Father, designed to bring enjoyment and enrichment to our lives. Yet when we stop trusting God's wisdom and begin following our own desires, we often lose sight of the purpose of those gifts. Rather than receiving them with gratitude, we consume them according to our own rules and expectations.

The problem is rarely the gift itself. More often, the problem is our lack of contentment.  We look to God's gifts to satisfy needs that only God can satisfy. We seek comfort, identity, peace, security, or fulfillment in created things instead of in the Creator. And when we do, "enough" never feels like enough.  True contentment is different.

Contentment is not settling for less. It is trusting that God knows what is best and that what He has provided today is sufficient for today. It is receiving His gifts with gratitude, enjoying them within His design, and recognizing that our deepest joy is found in Him rather than in the gifts themselves.

Contentment, peace, and joy all grow from gratitude. They flourish when we focus not on what we lack, but on what God has already given us.  When we trust Him, we discover that He truly is enough.

Perhaps contentment begins with believing that God is actually telling us the truth about who He is. That He is good. That His boundaries are good. That the gifts He gives are good. And that when He calls us to enjoy those gifts with gratitude and self-control, it isn't because He wants to withhold joy from us, but because He wants to protect it.

When we trust His heart, we stop chasing "more" and begin appreciating "enough." We find peace not in having everything we want, but in knowing that the One who provides for us knows exactly what we need.  As we learn to trust Him, practice gratitude, and embrace contentment, we discover that His way truly is the better way.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

-Kristin Engler