Love Day #19: The Saltwater Trap
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live… I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods.” — Psalm 63:3-5 (NIV)
THE JOURNEY
For five years, my “god” was a promotion to Regional Director. I loved that goal. I sacrificed for it. I missed my son’s soccer games for it. I worked late nights and weekends, fueled by the belief that when I got that title, the gnawing sense of inadequacy in my gut would finally vanish.
Then, on a rainy Tuesday in November, I got it. The title. The corner office. The raise.
I sat in my new leather chair, looking out at the city skyline. I waited for the wave of euphoria to hit me. I waited to feel “complete.”
Instead, I felt… nothing. Actually, that’s not true. I felt terrified. Because now that I had the thing I thought would save me, I realized it couldn’t. The hole in my chest was still there, whistling in the wind.
I had been drinking saltwater. I was thirstier now than when I started.
That night, I drove to an empty church parking lot. I turned off the car and just sat in the silence. I was angry at the job, angry at myself, and honestly, a little angry at God for letting me chase a ghost for so long.
“It didn’t work,” I whispered to the dashboard. “I got the prize, and I’m still empty.”
In that moment of total disillusionment, I felt a quiet invitation. It wasn’t a voice of “I told you so.” It was a voice of invitation: Are you ready to try the Real Thing now?
I realized I had been giving my supreme love—my time, my energy, my devotion—to a career that could not love me back. A job cannot hug you. A paycheck cannot forgive you.
I wept. I repented. I told God, “I’m sorry I tried to replace You. You are the only water that works.”
And right there, in a Honda Civic, without a promotion or a fanfare, I felt a warmth flood my chest that the corner office never gave me. It was the sensation of being known. It was the satisfaction of coming home.
Heart of the Matter
David wrote Psalm 63 while he was in a literal desert. He was thirsty, hot, and hunted. Yet, he makes a staggering claim: “Your love is better than life.”
Most of us live as if life (circumstances, money, health, romance) is better than God’s love. We treat God as a means to an end. We say, “God, I love You… now please give me the promotion so I can be happy.”
But this is the trap of idolatry. Whatever you love most, you worship. And if you worship something finite (like a career or a person), it will eventually crush you because it wasn’t designed to bear the weight of your soul.
Here is the dynamic: You love God by dethroning the idols. You admit that the “saltwater” of the world cannot quench your thirst. You bring your desperate, empty cup to Him. He loves you back by satisfying you. He proves to be the “richest of foods.” When you finally stop asking the world to be your savior, God rushes in to fill that space with a peace and a presence that is actually, literally, better than life itself.
Faith in Action
We need to remind our brains what is actually valuable.
The Challenge: Write down three things you are currently chasing or stressing over (e.g., Approval from my boss, A bigger house, The perfect body). Next to each one, write: “God’s love is better than…”
- God’s love is better than my boss’s approval.
- God’s love is better than a renovation.
Say it out loud. Train your heart to believe that the Giver is better than the gift.
Prayer for the Day
Lord, I confess that I have been drinking from broken cisterns. I have looked to my bank account, my relationship status, and my mirror to tell me who I am. I am tired of the saltwater. I am ready for the Living Water. I declare today that Your love is better than the things I have been chasing. Satisfy me, Lord. Fill the space that the world cannot reach. I love You more than life. Amen.
LOVE Note
“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.” — St. Augustine