eating crab legs

so far, we’ve identified 5 false sourcesof joy – typical ways we try to experience joy. but the key word is false – these fivesources of joy aren’t really sources at all….they just appear to be. so if they’refake, why do we keep going there? why don’t we figure it out? jeremiah 2:13 says, where god is talking to israel: “my people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the springof living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” for those of you not raised on a ranch, like i was not--i'm a city girl. you might not know what a cistern is!a cistern is just an underground container to catch and hold water.at that moment in israel's history, the nation of israel was in exile, far from god becauseshe had worshipped other idols and rebelled

against him. in this verse, god mentions twoof the specific ways israel had disobeyed him. he tells them they had forsaken him – thetrue god – and to add insult to injury, they were trying to satisfy themselves.here’s the way i see it in my mind: it’s like we’re hopelessly lost in thedesert, dying of thirst, seeking anything to quench our parched, dry throats. we seea kiosk with big flashing neon lights and god is holding up a sign that says, “livingwater available here.” we see the kiosk, we see the lights we see god, we see the sign thatpromises relief and we say, “no, thanks, god!" appreciate the offer, but i see a shovelover there. i think i’ll dig my own cistern!” and off we trot to start digging our own well– our own cistern. we abandon god, who has

not just water, but a spring of water – meaningit will never dry up. and we decide to figure it out ourselves.so we start digging, but the problem is our cisterns always break; they never hold up– the water leaks out -and so we remain thirsty, unable to quench our own thirst.this is how it's has played out in my life many times. see if you can relate.i’m having a bad day – any number of things have gone wrong. i’m feeling down, a littlediscouraged. what god wants me to do is to first talk to him; read his word and remindmyself of his ability to quench the ache in my soul, meditate on his love and his power,maybe even listen to some music that reinforces my faith in him, and most of all, remind myselfthat those five sources of joy that i cling

to will always let me down – this is earthnot heaven – and in so doing, i will readjust my perspective on what is going on in my lifethat day. that would be seeking the spring of living water.what i have done so many times is to instead, feel the emptiness and ache in my soul anddecide to call a friend! “i’ll call so and so; she always makes me feel better! ori’ll call my husband! he cheers me up!” and maybe i do just that, and i find myselffeeling a little bit better. but shortly, i realize the good feelings are gone, andi’m still lonely, or afraid, or upset. still thirsty. so then i decide i will feel better if i turnon the tv for a while – you know, distract myself. and it works. for a while. but thebad feelings are still there. i'm still thirsty.

as i walk through the kitchen, the refrigerator calls my name and i think to myself, “that’s it! i’m hungry! food will make it better! and so iconsume mass quantities of chips and salsa and guacamole and last night’s roast withpotatoes and carrots and still empty. chocolate! chocolate fixes everything. soafter eating my approved 1 oz of dark chocolate, i take stock of where i’m at: i’ve talkedto a friend, distracted myself from my worries, i’ve eaten far too much, and i’m stillsad inside. we are thirsty people but you have to understand that digging a broken cistern will never satisfy.

eating crab legs,it’s not meant to. and sometimes in our effort to satisfy ourself and find joy we dig like crazy, and we shovel as hard as we can, and we get mad because god isn't helping us.

and we say, "god why aren't you helping me? i am in desperate need here." you and i need to understand that god is never going to help you dig a broken cistern. he will never help you find joy outside of himself.