The Deep Longing Of The Soul - The Center for Executive Leadership
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • Rss
  • Instagram
The Center for Executive Leadership
  • What We Do
    • Contact
    • Statement of Faith
  • Media & Speaking
  • Blog
  • Audio
  • Books
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • 0Shopping Cart

The Deep Longing Of The Soul

May 27, 2014/in Inspiration, Life Purpose, Personal Growth, Spiritual Truth Richard E. Simmons III Blog /by Richard E. Simmons III

 

Tom Brady was interviewed on CBS’s 60 Minutes after winning his third Super Bowl a few years ago. Besides his football success, he had all the other things that our world values: fame, money, dates with supermodels…and then he married one of them. He said, “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there is something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey, man, this is what it is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, ‘***, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean, this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.” The interviewer asked, “What’s the answer?”

“I wish I knew. I wish I knew,” said Brady.

I think that it is hard for us all to believe that there was no sense of deep satisfaction in Tom Brady’s life after achieving his lifetime dream. In fact he seemed to be quite bewildered over the emptiness he experienced after this grand achievement. I am sure he was wondering, “If this does not satisfy me, what will?”

It seems that, in our innermost being, each of us has a deep yearning that seeks to be satisfied. Unfortunately, most of us are clueless as to what satisfies this strong desire. There are all types of pleasure, possessions, and achievements that offer to give it to you. But those things never keep their promise.

Sigmund Freud recognized this desire within himself. In a paper that he published in 1899, he described it as, “a longing that haunted me all of my life.” He never was able to satisfy it.

C. S. Lewis believed that the things in this world were never meant to satisfy us. They can bring delight, but not satisfaction.

I think that King David nailed it when he said, “For he has satisfied the thirsty sand, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.” (Psalm 107:9)

In another passage he says, “As the deer pants for the waterbrook, so my soul thirsts for God.”

Psychiatrist Gerald May observed, “After twenty years of listening to the yearnings of people’s hearts, I am convinced that human beings have an inborn desire for God. Whether we are consciously religious or not, this desire is our deepest longing and most precious treasure.”

As a counselor on our staff has put it, “people are driven and ruled by unsatisfied desires, and they are desperately looking everywhere that they can in hopes of finding satisfaction.” He goes on to say the prophet Jeremiah was spot-on when he wrote:

For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns that can hold no water.

We forsake God, the fountain of living waters, and we construct a life strategy of making our own cisterns and filling them with water that will satisfy us. The problem is this: all of our cisterns leak. They cannot hold water. We are continually thirsty.

Lawrence Dutton is a member of the Emerson String Quartet, which is a wonderful classical music ensemble. He did all the right things – started playing early, went to Julliard, and had all the right accomplishments along the way. One year he and the quartet won two Grammy awards. It was a remarkable achievement, but Lawrence said that after the initial euphoria of the awards, he was deeply depressed for a time because he felt he’d done it all. How much higher could he jump?”

Do you see what happened? He was seeking satisfaction in his life through his music. He was building a broken cistern that could hold no water. It left him empty and depressed, just like Tom Brady.

But then Dutton became a committed Christian, and everything changed for him. Though he won four more Grammys, they were inconsequential; he had found and drunk from the fountain of living water and experienced true satisfaction. A Grammy award remains a great honor to Lawrence Dutton, but he no longer looks for it to satisfy him.

 

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint or Save As PDF
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Tweet
LinkedIn
Share
Tags: achievement, C.S. Lewis, Christ, Christian, David, deepest longing, depressed, desire, desire for God, emptiness, fame, Gerald May, goals, God, Jesus, Lawrence Dutton, longing, money, pleasure, Psalm 107:9, religious, satisfied, Sigmund Freud, soul, Super Bowl, thirsty, Tom Brady, treasure, true satisfaction, yearning
Share this entry
  • Share on WhatsApp
https://thecenterbham.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/rose-1307443_1920.jpg 1280 1920 Becky Gray https://thecenterbham.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/the-center-web-logo-retina.png Becky Gray2014-05-27 14:16:312019-09-11 20:47:23The Deep Longing Of The Soul
You might also like
Can We Enjoy Peace At All Times?
Love Rescue Me
Cease Striving
Steve Singletary Getting It Right
The Game Changer
King Solomon Solomon’s Insight on Money and Wealth

RSS Reliable Truth Podcast

  • Dealing with Fear, Anxiety and Stress - Part 4 January 18, 2021
  • Dealing with Fear, Anxiety and Stress - Part 3 January 18, 2021
  • Dealing with Fear, Anxiety and Stress - Part 2 January 11, 2021
  • Dealing with Fear, Anxiety and Stress - Part 1 January 11, 2021
  • God's Great Rescue Mission December 28, 2020

Email Newsletter

Learn about upcoming events or follow our blog

Subscribe

Connect with us

Categories

  • Character Development (256)
  • Ecclesiastes (3)
  • General (164)
  • Gospel of John (17)
  • Human Sexuality (32)
  • Inspiration (240)
  • Leadership (151)
  • Life Purpose (251)
  • Marriage and Relationships (59)
  • Personal Growth (341)
  • Prayer (28)
  • Relationships (117)
  • Scripture (169)
  • Seeking God (202)
  • Spiritual Truth (370)
  • The Bible (101)
  • The Center Fellowship (43)
  • True Masculinity (104)
  • Wisdom (340)

About

Meet the people at The Center, and learn about the unique work that each one is involved in.

Books

Purchase in-depth resources that dig deeply into specific topics to help you live a life of purpose.

Blog

Read encouraging articles that will get you thinking about timeless truths.

Audio

Listen to thought-provoking messages that challenge and inspire you wherever you are on life’s journey.

Donate

Partner with us to help share God’s timeless truth with the modern world.

About The Center

The Center for Executive Leadership is a 501c3, non-profit organization funded by donations from individuals. We are grateful for their generous support of the spiritual development of our community.
Our Statement of Faith

Our finances are reviewed by an independent board of directors. If you would like to contribute, you can donate securely, or mail a check to:

The Center for Executive Leadership
200 Union Hill Dr.,
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35209
info@thecenterbham.org
205-789-3471

INSTALLING THE APP

INSTALL OUR APP

UNION HILL PUBLISHING

© Copyright – The Center for Executive Leadership. All rights reserved. To view our Privacy Policy, please click here.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • Rss
  • Instagram
A Reason for Our Discontent God’s Clorox
Scroll to top