What Do You Think Will Fulfill You?

But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. - John 4:14

With Super Bowl Sunday being just around the corner, I got to thinking about a story I heard a while back. I came across this story while I was scrolling through my phone one Sunday evening while my husband and I were watching an NFL game. My husband’s best friend had posted about a conversation he’d had a couple of years earlier with a former NFL player who had won a Super Bowl title.

Reading this story was quite the wake-up call for me, as I’m sure it will be for you. I think you’ll see why as you read it. I’m going to post my friend’s version of the story below, realizing he told it way better than I could retell it. So here goes:

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Today I had the opportunity to spend some time talking to a former Super Bowl champion. At one point during the conversation, I asked him what that moment felt like. I was expecting to hear that it was one of the best moments of his life, or that he felt so much relief to finally accomplish that. I got an answer that was much different from what I was expecting.

He mentioned that it was a cool experience to see all of his hard work come to fruition. He had never won anything before that and he said he had spent his whole life and career striving for that moment. However, he said there was something missing.

He said when the clock hit :00, he was expecting complete joy and fulfillment. But when that moment finally came, he said he felt as if there was more. He had just won one of the biggest championships in sports, and he still felt that he was missing something. He felt an emptiness inside.

With confetti falling all around him, he said he realized that there was no material thing that could satisfy this emptiness. He had spent his whole life chasing this moment only to find that it did not complete him. He was still hungry for something more. He told me, not knowing my beliefs, that there was only one thing that could satisfy the hunger he felt. And that thing was not of this world.

Once I opened up that I was a Christian and that I was following him, he began to explain more. He said that when the game ended, he had a realization that the only thing that would ever satisfy his hunger was God. No material possession or accomplishment would ever fill the void in his life.

This man recognized the magnitude of the moment and the weight that being an NFL champion carries, but he also understood that the feeling was only temporary. He needed something that was eternal to quench his hunger.

No matter how big the accomplishment or how much money there is, it will always leave you feeling empty. There’s only one thing that can fully satisfy you. God. In a sense, this man had it all, but at the pinnacle of his career, he realized God was all he had ever needed.

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What a story. What a realization. What an eye-opener.

I may never know what it’s like to win a Super Bowl. But I do know I’ve been guilty of thinking that if I could just accomplish a goal or see a dream become a reality, then I’d be truly content and fulfilled. I’ve thought things like:

If I could just graduate college and be done with school…

If I could just get my own place…

If I could just get married…

If I could just get into a career that I loved…

If I could just make this amount of money…

The list keeps going. Far too often we think the things of this world will satisfy us and fulfill us in ways that they were never designed to. We weren’t created to be fulfilled by earthly pleasures and experiences. We were created only to be fulfilled by God.

I hope that you’ll remember this man’s story. I hope you’ll take his words to heart, and that as you do, you’ll be reminded that no matter what you accomplish during your life, what goals you achieve, what dreams you see come to fruition, you’ll never be truly content, satisfied, or joy-filled if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus.

I pray that moving forward, you’ll seek out that relationship and draw near to Him, and that you’ll experience all of the joy, contentment, fulfillment, and satisfaction He has to offer.