Live Free with Josh Howerton - Unfailing Love: The Greatest Desire | Ep. 92 | Tuesday June 13, 2023

Episode Date: June 13, 2023

Pastor Mike discusses the search for identity and how our relationships play a role in fulfilling that search. We try to find the perfect fit in life and find that everything disappoints. The truth is that we are looking for perfect love and a love that is unfailing can only be found in one place: An unfailing God. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, welcome to the Daily Drive podcast. Hope you're having a great summer. You know, I've kept a little toy in my office for over 25 years now.

I belong to my youngest son, Drew. It's one of those red and blue Tupperware balls with all kinds of, you know, shapes on the outside of her kids try to match the corresponding yellow pieces into the various triangles, circles, squares, hexagons, etc. I remember when Drew was maybe three or four years old, he would get so frustrated at playing with his toy because he would try to force the piece in his hand into the particular shape. that he wanted it to go into. And you'd hear him in his back, back at his room, grunting and banging on it, and then you'd see him walking down the hall, and I'd ask, hey, Drew, where are you going? I'm going to get a hammer. He'd come back and he'd waggon on it some more.

He would get so ticked off at this little plastic puzzle toy. And I kept it in my office over the years, not to remind me so much of a cute little frustrated four-year-old, but to remind me of the millions and millions of people who are equally as frustrated with life. Every time I see it sitting there on the shelf, it renews the passion, for why I do what I do because it breaks my heart to look around our culture and see so

many people searching for the perfect fit trying to cram square pegs into a round hole of their life in order to find satisfaction, to find purpose, to find their self, to find their true identity. There was a guy named Solomon,

who was a richest guy who ever lived. He made Elon Musk, Jeff Bathos, Warren Buffett look like well, me. He had every resource available to him, and he used them all as he went on this search to find himself, and what would fit the gaping hole in the human heart. And he writes in his very honest journal called the Book of Ecclesiastes. This is the Old Testament section of the Bible.

He said, you know what, I said to myself. I said to my heart. Come now. Let's just see what might fill up this gaping hole. And he tried, as he puts it, everything under the sun, to find that perfect fit, to see what would fill up that void. I mean, dude never looked at a price tag in his life. Never used a coupon coat in his life.

This guy was loaded. He had real estate adventures, incredible mansions, palaces, gardens, parks, waterfront properties. He got into music, he got into art. He experimented with unbridled sexual encounters. He binged on gourmet food, choice vintage wine, through the biggest, wildest parties anybody could ever throw. And at the end of his life, he said, you know what I've discovered?

It's all meaningless. It's just like chasing after the wind. It's like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. You see, deep within our hearts is a godlike shape. Solomon would write a little bit later in the book of Proverbs. He says, here's my conclusion. What a man, what a woman desires is an unfailing love. Let me read that again.

It's Proverbs 1922. What a man, what a woman desires is an unfailing love. love. That don't you sense that's true? That the thing we're all seeking is an unfailing love to fill up that hole in our heart. And so we go on a quest looking for it, and our culture is all about love. I mean, bookstore shelves sag with the weight of volumes of romance novels, and Hollywood is cranking out love story after love story, and how many love songs have been sent out over the airwaves by Delilah late at night for those looking for love. You know, love songs like Ed Shearins, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms.

You look perfect tonight. John Legends, all of me, loves all of you. That Klinger song by Katie Perry, just because it's over doesn't mean it's really over, and if I think it over, maybe you'll be coming over again. And one of my all-time favorites, ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough,

ain't no river-wide enough to keep me from getting to you. And I'm thinking, you might need to get a restraining order on this person. But there's all kinds of love songs. And all kinds of romantic movies, some are great, some are kind of cheesy. I was flipping channels the other night, and I saw it again on, like, TNT. It's the movie starring Tom Cruise when he was younger as the sports agent, Jerry McGuire. You remember the movie? There are three famous lines from that movie.

Remember what they were? The most famous line is probably, show me the money. The second off-quoted line uttered by Jerry's wife, Renee Zillweger, was, You had me at, hello, right? Then the one that just kills me is when he gives his wife this, I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused you look, and he says this phrase,

You complete me. You know, Debbie and I have been together for over four decades now. Our theme song, we were dating each other, was this old song called, I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow. Man, I would crank it up on the radio, call her up, just play that song over the phone.

We just kind of breathe at each other. for a long time. Oh, you've done it too. But it was our song. It was our love song. And when it comes on an oldie station still today, it makes a smile. And you know what? It's true about us. It really does grow every day. I do love her more today than yesterday. And hopefully not as much as I will tomorrow. It grows every day for me. And she is my soulmate. She is my best friend. I would rather hang out with Debbie Bro than anybody else on the planet. I miss her a ton when I'm traveling. I can't wait to the end of the day just to come home and be with her. But make, make no mistake about it.

She does not complete me. And I know this might come as a shock to you, but she would tell you that I don't complete her either. You see, to expect another imperfect human being to complete you, to expect any relationship to fill up that hole in your heart, is setting that relationship up for failure and frustration. That expectation is both unfair and unrealistic. Because you remember what Solomon said?

What a man, what a woman desires is a, a unfailing love, an unfailing love to hope for or to expect an imperfect, fallible human being just like you, to complete you, is setting yourself up for huge disappointment and setting the relationship up for a long uphill struggle. Psalm 32, verse 10 says, unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord, only one place to get unfailing love, gang. So today, lean into your relationship with God and let his unfailing love surround you and define who you are. You are complete in Christ. And when you and I let Him complete us, we bring better people with right size expectations to all of our relationships. We'll pick up here tomorrow. Man, I hope you have a

great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.

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