Today I want to talk about dissatisfaction! Do you consider yourself a dissatisfied person?
Let me explain what it means: Dissatisfaction is a permanent state or crises of discontentment with oneself, with God, with other people, or things.
I was someone who lived in this discontentment, my life was all about complaining and I couldn’t break through in any of my goals. I remember once when I received a house from the municipality, and I was happy, but when we went to see the house and, in my mind, I already started to “complain” because this house was smaller than the others we had previously lived in before. How would I be able have people over in my house?
Dissatisfaction is something so terrible that I prefer to define it as a “black hole” in the soul, which destroys all opportunities for contentment.
Is dissatisfaction psychological or spiritual?
This evil certainly originates from emotional sources but it can also become spiritual. For the enemy works on our weaknesses, if he perceives that we are dissatisfied, he will shoot poisoned arrows into our minds. If we believe a lie and start complaining and despising what the Lord has given us, we open doors to an evil action in our lives.
When the people of God were freed from slavery in Egypt, they received a tremendous miracle. But from the exit of Egypt to the promised land, they went through a desert. It was a difficult time with many struggles and difficulties, lack of water and food, but God provided for His people through all things. Still, many could not see God’s care, they looked at what they had lost and became dissatisfied with what they had. That whole generation perished in the desert because they were constantly dissatisfied and murmuring.
All ungrateful people are dissatisfied and therefore cannot perceive divine providence and end up losing God’s blessings and may even die in the desert (in the midst of problems) and never conquer God’s promises for their lives. Remember that the people who left Egypt received a promise to enter a land flowing with milk and honey, but their dissatisfaction and constant complaining blocked the promise from coming through.
There are 3 stages to destroying our lives if we do not uproot dissatisfaction from our hearts.
The Bible says: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” Proverbs 4:23 NLT
- Invasion of the soul – a small seed
Dissatisfaction is symptomatic, there is first the absence of peace of God and the further away a person gets from God, the more dissatisfied they become with everything and everyone. They want to get everything done, but everything they do is wrong, it’s just like “a plane without a pilot”.
Judas, the brother of Jesus, defines well the behaviours of a dissatisfied person:
“These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.” Jude 1:16 NLT
Judas Iscariot was dissatisfied. This took over his thoughts and he began to steal money that was meant to be for livelihood of the twelve disciples (John 12:4-6), he condemned the good work of Mary of Bethany towards Jesus and finally was dominated by the power of evil:
“Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples,” Luke 22:3 NLT
On the other hand, we see that Apostle Paul is a great example of a person satisfied with God and with his life, resisting all temptations:
“We seem to be sad, but really we are always happy. We seem to be poor, but we make many people rich. We seem to have nothing, but really we have everything.”
2 Corinthians 6:10
Dissatisfaction is a malicious seed planted by the powers of darkness in people’s souls with the specific purpose of destroying lives and relationships.
Dissatisfaction resembles a small seed. It arises, somewhat innocent, over a point we disagree with or something we know is wrong, but when it germinates and grows into something big, it ends up taking uncontrollable proportions. At the height of its growth, its roots gain depth and from a small seed, it becomes a leafy tree and invades all areas of our lives.
Dissatisfaction often starts small and only in one sector of our life, but if not uprooted, it becomes something much larger. Hebrews 12:15 speaks of the root of bitterness and how it takes hold when we do not give place to God’s grace. Negative feelings always start in our souls as small seeds and if we them, they take root and become attitudes. Eventually, they become present in all moments, decisions, and areas of our lives.
- It destroys individuals
Dissatisfied people are inconsistent, they have no inner peace, consequently they have no peace with others or God. They are constantly dominated by their negative feelings, they are pessimistic and defeatist.
Dissatisfaction causes damage to the individual, and can even lead them to suicide, as was the case with Judas Iscariot:
“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.” Matthew 27:4-5
The Bible gives the following advice to dissatisfied complainers:
“Why should the living complain when punished for their sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:39-40
The Bible invites us to repent when there are complaints and murmurs in our hearts, we must search, examine, and repent. Another biblical example was Achan. (Joshua 7:1-15)
Do you remember when Joshua along with the people of Israel conquered Jericho in a miraculous way? They did not fight, but only marched around the city until the Lord gave them victory. God gave them an order: They could not take anything from that city, no spoils. Normally after a battle, the winning army had the right to take from those they had defeated. But in that situation God said do not take anything, destroy everything. But Achan was not satisfied, he did not think that God had made a good choice. We see that he was dissatisfied and rebelled against an order of God:
“Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff.” Joshua 7:11
As a consequence, he and his entire family died. Dissatisfaction can lead to rebellion and this can destroy us. Have you ever stopped to identify in which area of your life dissatisfaction is attacking you? What area are you complaining or murmuring about?
- It causes harm to others
Dissatisfaction destroys our lives, marriages, and families. It ruins relationships at work, in our neighbourhood, at school, in college and in the Church. Wherever a dissatisfied person goes, there is a trail of destruction left behind.
Dissatisfaction is an open channel for the powers of darkness to cause harm to many people, institutions in general, and nations of the world; it is an internal conflict that leads people to carry out strikes and wars.
Today we can clearly see this conflict in Israel, dissatisfied people are fighting and killing innocent people. Dissatisfaction (discontent and murmuring) destroyed an entire generation of the people of God:
“Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” Numbers 14:28-30 NLT
Remember that personal dissatisfaction can affect those around you, just as the dissatisfaction of a few murmurers contaminated that entire generation which left Egypt, causing them all to die in the desert.
To conclude, I would like to show another side of it. There is also constructive kind of dissatisfaction, which leads us out of stagnation towards change, unlike the negative kind, which ends up turning us into complainers, pessimists, rebels trapped in a spiral of negativity. We need to be attentive to these two types, because this is fundamental if you want to proceed correctly towards your goals. When dissatisfaction arises in our hearts, it is an emotion that needs to be evaluated. It isn’t a sin to feel it, but to feed it to the point where it becomes rebellion, making us act negatively and rebelliously.
When we feel dissatisfied, we should first use that feeling to change what bothers us. Move forward and take responsibility, such as advancing in our careers or personal plans.
Constructive dissatisfaction moves us from our comfort zone and pushes us to another level, to other experiences and to growth.
This will only happen when we realise that the circumstances may not be good.
In my situation, for example, which I mentioned of my house, I found ways to receive people over even though the house is not as big as I would have liked. I adapted my living room so that my guests could sleep there. I made my new house a welcoming place and instead of feeling dissatisfied, I filled my heart with gratitude and I look after the house in the best way possible. But, if rebellion, born from dissatisfaction, had taken root in my heart, I certainly would not be here today sharing this word with you. I learned to be grateful and to trust in God.
Going back to the people of Israel in the desert, when Moses sent the 12 spies to explore the promised land, 10 of them returned with a dissatisfied hearts, they said that the land was no good, that there were giants and that they would be crushed. But 2 men returned with hearts full of faith and conviction, and although there could recognise the challenges, they knew God would give them victory.
The great difference lies in how we look at our problems; this dissatisfied look can generate a bitter heart and this bitterness will generate rebellious attitudes.
Rebellious attitudes will make you lose your blessings; there is no way for God to bless rebellion.
We have to discern dissatisfaction in our lives, return to God and seek strength in Him to change these circumstances, and only then we will we have victory. Just as Apostle Paul is a great example of a person satisfied with God and with his life, resisting all temptations:
“as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” II Corinthians 6:10 NKJV
Conclusion
Dissatisfied people are anxious; they want to solve all their issues, but they do not know how to solve their own lives with God; they judge everything and everyone, but they do not judge their own inconsistency and their own thoughtless actions.
Do not let your desire to be better turn into dissatisfaction, for growth and prosperity must be based on gratitude for what you already have.
Repent of the sin of dissatisfaction and have an abundant life; change your mental attitude.
I want to finish with this verse:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:6-8 NKJV
May God bless you and help you to be a grateful and joyful person.