Contentment in a Fallen World with Bobby Jamieson
Today we get to hear from Bobby Jamieson about the topic of futility in a fallen world. What ultimately matters in this life? What will truly satisfy us? What is the point of all this? Bobby walks us through how the book of Ecclesiastes speaks to life’s big problems and points us to Jesus. We hope this episode encourages you to find your ultimate satisfaction in God himself.
NOTES & QUOTES
“Letting go of that illusion of control is a prerequisite to rightly receiving, understanding, and enjoying any good gift God gives you.”
“When you take the limits for granted and you see the good thing as a gift of God, you are liberated to rejoice in toil. It is still toil, but you can rejoice in it. There will be frustrations and futilities and limits, but you're enabled to see the good things. And so I think there's a fundamental posture of, if this is a gift from God, how do I hold it with open hands? . . . I can only be content with this present enjoyment if I'm not wishing. Wishing I had a different job, wishing my kids were radically different than they are, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”
“God is the sovereign determiner of your life and all of its limits and hardships and joys. Recognizing that is a source of kind of renewable happiness because you're receiving the joy that there is.”
“No earthly good is ultimate. All the earthly goods God gives us are meant to be savored in their own right and pointers to His goodness. And then only he can satisfy us and he will fully and finally in the world to come.”
“Ecclesiastes is the question. And Jesus is the answer.”
“But I think Ecclesiastes diagnoses a deeper problem, which is there's a disconnect just with the fundamental fallenness and brokenness of this world and the fundamental fallenness of our hearts means there will always be things you want but don't get. There will always be things you want and if you get them, They don't satisfy. There will always be ways in which you are sort of working for something and you cannot control the outcome. There will always be ways in which you do not get what you deserve, even if that's in a positive sense. You rightly deserve something good, but don't get it.”
Simple gifts — learning how to rejoice in the good things God gives you
RESOURCES
Everything is Never Enough: Ecclesiastes’ Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness by Bobby Jamieson
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What worldly things are you looking to for satisfaction? What deeper idol does that expose?
Thinking evangelistically, what are some open-ended questions you might ask others to get to the heart of what their values are and what they’re striving for?
In what ways can limits be a good thing?
What limits has the Lord placed over your life that press you deeper into your need for Him?
What good gifts from God can you identify in your life today?
What might you do or implement based on what you learned in this week’s episode?
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IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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