I have heard people say: “It sure would be nice if we had a spring one of these years!” 

I know in North Dakota it is common to have snowbanks and wood ticks at the same time, but in a “normal” year we would have a couple of weeks of warm weather before summer hits. We all look forward to summer after a long winter as John Steinbeck wrote: “What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?”

But again, this year we seem to have missed that connecting link. Obviously, these challenges affect our farming and ranching friends, way more than those of us watering lawns and flowerbeds.

I once heard a preacher say farmers are not a good barometer for weather discussions, because on one side of the fence it could be too dry and on the other too wet. And then he summed it up by saying: “let’s be honest, farmers are just never satisfied!” And I am not sure it is related to that statement, but he is in a different line of work now.

But consider if you will who among us is truly satisfied? After all isn’t our desire to “be and do better” a driving force behind the American Dream? The word satisfied is mentioned forty-one times in the Bible. In Exodus 18 when Moses was overwhelmed dealing with the problems of the people in his charge, his father-in-law stated that Moses should find leaders to address the day-to-day issues and to teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform.

 And in verse 23 Moses wrote: “If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” 

But how long did it last? Have you ever stood in front of a bulging closet thinking you had nothing to wear, or a refrigerator brimming with food and felt there was nothing to eat? As fallen people, we have an amazing ability to stand in the middle of lavish blessings and feel we are poor and needy.

And the root cause is our tendency to envy. Pastor Paul Tripp writes: “Envy forgets blessing, and in forgetting blessing assumes poverty, and in assuming poverty gives way to hunger, and this feeling of hunger tempts us to look to and long for what simply will not satisfy.”

I have a bi-vocational pastor friend in Arizona who when he is not preaching is showing and shoeing horses. On a visit some years back we saw one of those huge horse trailers with air conditioning and living quarters and stuff like that. I said wow check out that trailer and he replied: “I refuse to look because if I do, I will envy, and envy is a sin!”

Do you envy when your neighbors get a new car or boat or when you hear they ran the Fargo Marathon, and you wonder if marathons are in your future or if you could ever have a mate that could accomplish such a task.  It is a safe assumption that if you are a sinner, envy lurks around every corner. But there is good news if we simply learn to remember what we have! Pastor Paul suggests we sit down and literally count our blessings.

 ”Inventory everything you have; you’ll be surprised how quickly that list begins to take up multiple pages. Think about all the people who care about you and serve you in some way. Analyze all the ways in which God’s common grace makes your life comfortable, enjoyable, and healthy. If you look at life with a humble and thankful heart, you’ll very quickly remember that you are one who has been unfairly showered with blessing.

The most undeserved blessing, of course, is our salvation because of the sacrifice of Christ. Our Savior had it all but was willing to forsake it all for you and me. He walked away from glories our minds are too small to conceive so that the battle for our hearts could be won, both now and forever. We know that there will be a day when envy is no more, and we will live forever in the presence of his love, fully and completely satisfied. Until that day, envy will be a struggle.

But it’s a struggle that we don’t have to face alone. The sacrifice of Christ provides us with right here, right now grace: rescuing, restoring, empowering, forgiving, and transforming grace.”

Psalm 73 is a great example of transforming grace in action. He begins with, “For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (vs. 3). But by the end, grace has rescued and transformed him, resulting in contentment: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you” (vs 25).

When you are satisfied with all that God has given you – because you have found in Him the life you were designed for, you are freed from the ravenous quest for satisfaction that keeps so many people discouraged, depressed and yearning for more. Our envious hearts can only find rest in the One who sent His Son to set us free for eternity.

Many blessings on your day.