00:00:02
Speaker 1: Life Audio.

00:00:05
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Love Offering Podcast. I'm your host Rachel Adams, author of Everyday Prayers for Love, Learning to Love God, others, and even yourself. Each week we dive into meaningful conversations about how to live out the greatest commandment, loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, whether through inspiring stories, practical wisdom, or biblical truth. My hope is to encourage you to love boldly, live faithfully, and reflect God's love in your everyday life. Today, I'm honored to welcome Joanna Kimberl to the show. Joanna is a Bible teacher, speaker, and writer who is passionate about helping women see the beauty and sufficiency of Christ in every season of life. Through her teaching and writing, she invites women to trade striving and self sufficiency for a deeper, more satisfying relationship with Jesus. Joanna is the author of You Are Satisfied Devotions for your Longing Heart. In this powerful forty day devotional, she gently guides readers to bring their deepest desires, disappointments, and longings to God's word, reminding them that while the world encourages them to look inward for fulfillment, true satisfaction is found only in Christ. Through themes like God's promises, provision, plan, and presence, Joanna shows how God meets us in both the highs and lows of life and transforms our desires as we draw near to Him. Well, Hello, Joanna, and welcome to the Level for Ring podcast. I'm so happy to have you.

00:01:26
Speaker 1: Hi, Rachel. Thanks so much for having me here. This is really fun.

00:01:29
Speaker 2: As soon as I saw your book come through my mailbox, which I was so beautiful first of all, I was so thrilled to get it. I'm like, I need to have her on this show because I think this idea of satisfaction is something that we all desire to have, but so few of us actually do. So I'm thrilled to have this conversation. I don't think in eight seasons of the podcast we've had it yet, so that's exciting. Yeah, that I am interested. Is it safe or wrong to assume that? But maybe you were unsatisfied at some point and so felt led to write about that. Is that a safe assumption? I don't know.

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Speaker 1: You're not wrong, It's definitely a safe assumption, because I mean, I think that that's true of all of us, isn't it. And you know, this devotional really came out of a season where I had to wrestle with can I be satisfied when my circumstances are not what I hoped for or what I wanted. It was really a season of a lot of difficulty, a lot of struggle, a lot of refining. It included a lot of hard things, things like I was diagnosed with a chronic illness and I had some really challenging relationships that I had to navigate. I'm saying these things in the past tense. I'm still really walking through a lot of these things. But there was also just some hurt that was going on in our local church. I mean, I could keep going, and I'm sure listeners can name off all sorts of their own circumstances, but I came to this place where I said, almost nothing in my life is what I thought. I feel like every part of my life is somehow touched by struggle and somehow touched by things being different. Every area of my life needed me to wait on something. And so it was in that season that I knew I needed to press in to the one constant, unchanging source of satisfaction. I needed to see and learn and remind myself what it means to be satisfied in Christ. And so I wrote this devotional for me in a lot of ways, but I also wrote it for anyone else who struggles to be content or satisfied in different times of their life. And I think that's all of us.

00:03:39
Speaker 2: Amen. Well, so was this when things switched for you? Was it just like this tension that's wrestling with the Lord and you felt like the Lord revealed something to you? Or what did that process look like like? When did it actually switch from I'm feeling this way and then naw, my perspective has now changed or I need to look at it through this lens.

00:03:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's at a great question. I don't know if there was a one day when everything changed, you know. I think sometimes the Lord gives us things and reveals things to us about maybe our sin or the areas where we're not trusting him as we are ready for them, as He is ready to work them in us. And so really, as I look back over the past many years, was kind of the slow building. There were several different times, you know, there was one in particular, where I had to leave a job that I really loved and that I thought was kind of going to be my forever job, and I found my identity in that job, and when I left, I realized my satisfaction has been rooted there, my sense of purpose and joy has been there, and then it was gone. And so really, I guess that is kind of the point. From that point, the Lord just kept adding on more things that he wanted to show me, more places where I was clinging to, whether it be what other people think of me, or what I can accomplish, or you know, you can name any number of things. He just began bit by bit to reveal those to me, and the beautiful thing, It's been like the hardest season of my entire life, but it's also been the most joyful and the most fruitful and the most growth that I've experienced, all alongside some of the deepest sorrow. So there was kind of a moment when I feel like it started. But man, he's just been working on me for years and giving me that deeper satisfaction in him, and I'm still a work in progress, So I can't say that every single day. I don't wrestle with trying to find my satisfaction somewhere else. It's just not true. I think we're going to wrestle all the way to glory. But I can see a trajectory that He has worked in my life through hardship and through suffering and through trials in order to to just make that satisfaction even deeper rooted, and to make it firmer and stronger and more consistent.

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Speaker 2: That's so good. You know, as you were talking about that job, how tempting it is for us to fund satisfaction in everything but the Lord, because it is such an immediate gratification here on earth, and that I think that I have fallen prey to that and identity, you know, and getting accolades and getting applause and finding joy. But at the same time, don't you think that God wants us to fund joy and so much and satisfaction in so many of the blessings that He's given us.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, And that's the thing is God gives us good gifts. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift. It all comes from Him. And so there is such a tension that we have to face in our lives of these things have been given to us for us to enjoy. But the problem is when we take these good things and make them ultimate things, when they become the thing that we need most in our lives to be happy. And you know, part of the reason that God gives us these incredible gifts out of love for us is because He wants them to point us back to Him, back to the giver, And if we are just stopping at the gift, we are missing the fullness of what He has for us.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, well, I can't wait to continue today's conversation, but we're going to take a brief break to hear a word from today's sponsor, and when we come back, we'll talk about how God meets us in our longings and reshapes our desires. Welcome back. I'm talking with that Joeanna Kimberl about her book You Are Satisfied. And in your book it talks about how our desires aren't necessarily the problem, but where we take them matters. So how can we begin to recognize when we are looking to the wrong things for satisfaction?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, man, there are so many symptoms of this. I would say, when we're we're looking somewhere else, I think one one of the biggest things that we would maybe notice is this this need to hold on tight to something. I think that as soon as we notice that we are constantly worrying about what if I don't have this thing anymore, or what do I need to do to make sure I secure this thing that I really want, whether it is a job promotion, or whether it is you know, a relationship, or this however much money it is that you're trying to make, or getting into this college, or you know, whatever it may be. As soon as we notice that we have a lot of anxiety around trying to make sure that those things happen and that they don't go away. I think that what we're noticing then is we are looking to our vision of what is best for our life instead of trusting that knowing Christ and knowing God is what is best for our life, and He knows what is best. And so if things aren't going to work out the way that we planned or hoped, if we just feel crushed, and you know, it's okay to be sad. I'm not saying we shouldn't grieve. We should grieve. I have grieved a lot over the past several years. But if we get to a point of despair where we just cannot get out of it, maybe that's an indication that our hope and our satisfaction was in the wrong thing. I think that we can see a deep level of satisfaction in Christ when we can look at our life and we can say, this is not what I planned, this is not what I wanted. Maybe this is not what I prayed for. But I know that I have a God who is good, who is all knowing, who is powerful, and who loves me. So I can trust that no matter how it works out, it is for my good.

00:09:40
Speaker 2: When I think about satisfaction, I also can sometimes think about complacency. Talk to us about that tension a little bit, like we want to be satisfied and content, but not complacent. Do you see the distinction in those things one hundred percent?

00:09:56
Speaker 1: Because you could say, oh, well, I'm just satisfied, I'm content, and so I'm just going to stay right where I am. And I don't think that that's what God has for us, because the reality is that God has put us on this earth with a mission, and the mission is to make him known, to make disciples, to bring other people to Him. And that means that He has given us gifts to use to glorify Him, to serve others, And so there is this place where we can sit and like, well, you know what, I don't want to, you know, sit in dissatisfaction. So I'm just not going to try and develop my gifts. I'm just not even going to follow after these things that I love. Because maybe it's easier to just say I'm going to keep those off limits, because then I don't have to worry that I'm falling into sin. But the reality is, I think that often our giftings are also our places of greatest potential temptation. You know, I know that I have noticed that in my life. One of the giftings God has put in my life is teaching his word. Love it. It is such a joy. And one of my biggest struggles has been pride around how people perceive me as I'm teaching his word. Now, it would be not being faithful to the Lord. If I said I'm just not going to teach the Bible because then I won't be tempted towards pride. That would be easier, but that doesn't help us grow. It's not being faithful to what He's given us. So really the hard way is the way of holding the tension. It's really easy to go one way or the other say well, this is what I'm gifted to do, as made to do this, so of course I'm just going to go one hundred percent, or to say this is a struggle for me, so I'm just going to avoid it. That neither of those are faithfulness, the middle way of saying God, I need your help and coming to him every single day. Independence say God, give me wisdom, God give me humility. God help me to accept when you say yes and when you say no, and please alert me when there's something coming up in my heart that doesn't need to be there. That's the harder way, but it's the way that brings more growth and I think more satisfaction for us as we are depending on him and knowing him more closely.

00:12:04
Speaker 2: Is there a biblical example that you have found of someone that lived in this way, somebody that was constantly feeling dissatisfied and then somebody that lived satisfied.

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Speaker 1: I feel like I could think of a lot of examples of dissatisfaction.

00:12:21
Speaker 2: Easy, didn't it.

00:12:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, there were several different stories that came to mind. One I think about when James and John, who are two of Peter's disciples, came to Jesus and said, hey, will you make us like set at your left hand and your right hand in your kingdom? You know, they were striving for this place of position, in this place of honor, instead of being content with the fact that God has called them to follow him wherever he leads. Or you know, I think about Abraham when God made him a promise that I will give you a son and he will be the father of many nations. And Abraham and Sarah are getting real old. She is well into metapal, and there's just no way naturally that's going to happen. Abraham gets tired of waiting. He's not content and satisfied in God's promise, And so Sarah says, why don't you go sleep with Hagar with this other woman and bring a child for us? And so he does, and man, it causes all kinds of strife. But you know what I want to say too, is the beautiful thing about both of those examples is that they are both cited in scripture as faithful followers of Jesus. I think that's important for us because it's really easy in this conversation to say, Gosh, I have messed this up so much. Every single day. I think we struggle with this and we make mistakes. But man, God is a god of grace and redemption, and so even if we continue to struggle with satisfaction, Man, God can still redeem that, and can still use us and still calls us to himself. You know, as you were asking about what about people examples of people who lived satisfied, there are also lots of examples of people who did that never consistently, you know, because later we do see that Abraham says that he his faith didn't waver and he trusted that God could even raise his son from the dead when God asked him to sacrifice him. So he was satisfied and God's promise and that moment, you know, we see all of these times when people mess up with both. I think the only true example we can look to is Christ. He's the only one who ever lived satisfied. And you know, it's so interesting because looking at Christ is the example of being satisfied probably feels counterintuitive because I think our definition of satisfaction in our minds might mean comfortable, it might mean easy, it might mean having all the things that we want, where things going the way that we hoped that they would. Christ was called a man of suffering, acquainted with grief, and his satisfaction was found in trusting the Father's will. He even prayed in the garden God, this is the night before he was arrested. He prayed, God, if there is any way for this to not happen, if there is any way that I cannot go to the cross, please let it be so. But not my will, but your will be done. Jesus experienced a depth of agony that we can never imagine. But he was also the most completely satisfied human to ever walk the earth because he completely entrusted himself to the will of the Father. He had a complete, uninterrupted, intimate relationship with God. He trusted his plans, he trusted his promises. He was satisfied in all circumstances. He trusted God's word for his life. And so satisfaction does not have to be that everything is good and happy all the time. You know, Paul says that we are sorrowful yet always rejoicing, And I think that that really is such a beautiful description of what being satisfied in God really is.

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Speaker 2: Talk to us about this concept in relation to our relationships, specifically in marriage and in motherhood. And you're the mother of three young girls, and so how has this concept shaped or changed and even transformed your marriage and motherhood?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, hugely, I would say.

00:16:09
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:16:09
Speaker 1: You know, I think that there's a huge temptation as mom or parents, or as a spouse to make that person the source of your own satisfaction. Ye said, like this companionship, this way you need. It's this love. And anybody who has been married for any amount of time knows that it doesn't always work that way. Because we are sinners married to sinners. That's just the way that it is. And the same thing with our kids, Like we kind of have this vision of this beautiful life where our kids always want to be around us and everything's you know, baking cookies and playing in the park and all of those things. Or even even with adult children, right this idea, like I want them to come over all the time and call me every day and hang out with me and all these things. And you know, a lot of times it doesn't work out the way that we expected it to. For one reason or another. But I think it's not only a kindness to ourselves to realize these people were never meant to satisfy me, Like they were never meant to be the thing that makes me happy. And okay, that's not only a kindness to ourselves. Was a kindness to them because there is such a pressure that comes from needing to be the one who fulfills your parents' desires, your spouses every emotional need, like it's just not possible, and that weight can be crushing. And so when we look at our husband's or our wives or our children, those things are good gifts. Like we said before, they are meant to point us back to God. They are gifts that are meant to show us how much we need a good and perfect father who is so much better than us. Or they are gifts that show us like, if my husband loves me this much, how much more does Christ love his church? So these things, they were never meant to satisfy us. And so one of the greatest gifts that we can give, both to our children and to our spouses is to pursue our joy in the Lord. That is the greatest gift we can give to them. But also to us. And you know the flip side with kids, I think sometimes we think we have to be all of their satisfaction, and so there's a freedom in knowing that, Nope, they need to look to the Father, they need to look to Christ. Because when we inevitably mess up and make mistakes in our parenting, we can freely go to them and we can apologize and say, hey, mommy is not perfect. You have a father who is though you know he will never let you down. And I'm so glad he forgives me when I make mistakes, and I hope you will forgive me too. So, yeah, it would. They were just never meant to be it, but we get this mindset that that's the ultimate thing that we need.

00:18:54
Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh that's so good. Joanna. Well, I can't wait to continue today's conversation, but we're going to take another brief break to hear a word from today's sponsor, and when you come back, we will talk about finding peace and difficult seasons and how God uses our longings for his glory. Welcome back, and I'm talking with Joanna Kimberl about her book You are Satisfied, and you know you kind of alluded to this earlier, but you're right about finding peace in the middle of life's has and lows. So for the woman today that's walking through grief, disappointment, or uncertainty, what encouragement would you offer to her today?

00:19:27
Speaker 1: Man, how much time do you have? You know, I will just say that this is an area that has been so meaningful for me to think through because life is full of grief and disappointments. You know, we can't we can't get away from it. I allude to this earlier, but there are three elements of God's character that I call to mind every time that I'm dealing with some kind of disappointment. And it is one that God is all knowing, He is wise, and he knows what is best. Two is that he is all powerful, which means he is able to make those good, those best things happen. And three is that He is good and he loves us. And so if he knows all things, and he is able to make all things come to pass, and he loves us, then we can trust that He is able to work all things together for our good in our lives. And so even when we do not understand why, we can trust him and you know, sometimes there are there are circumstances that seem like, no, you know what, I can understand why God didn't let me have that job, But this tragedy or this horrific thing is it's just that that's too much like that is outside of God using this for good. And you know, whenever I am tempted to think that, because my mind definitely goes there. Whenever I am tempted to think that, I remember that the most horrific and tragic and evil event in human history was that the Son of God was torture and betrayed and shamed and crucified. But that very event was also the thing that God used to bring about our ultimate salvation and satisfaction. And so if God can use the cross for good, then he can bring joy from our suffering. And so that's one thing I would say. The other thing I would say is man one of my favorite passages in scripture, well, I have so many, so one I did say. One one of them is Second Corinthians, chapter four, verses sixteen through eighteen. It's been so meaningful in my life. It says, so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. The things that are seen a pansient. The things that are unseen are eternal. And I love this passage so much because what it's not saying is, hey, one day, this will all be better, This too shall pass. It's not not saying that, but it's actually saying more than that, because those things are true, like there is a day that we look forward to when all that is wrong will be made right. But it's saying more than that. It is saying that these afflictions and sorrows and griefs that we are experiencing, that feel so heavy and relentless in this life, are producing a weight of glory. They are bringing about good and joy and glory for us in eternity, happiness that we would not have experienced if we didn't also experience that's suffering. So they're not just going to be over one day. They serve a purpose. They are meaningful, and when we look to eternity and see the glory that will be there for us. The weight of that glory and the eternality of that glory, that it's everlasting, will make these heavy and seemingly relentless sorrows feel light and momentary in comparison, Man, how good must the glory?

00:23:14
Speaker 2: I hear everything you're saying, and I agree with everything you're saying. Huh, But on a practical level for the person who's listening saying, Okay, I understand that on a head level and maybe even on a heart level, But how do I actually live this out practically? I want to live satisfied. What can we do or is it simply just a heart change?

00:23:34
Speaker 1: Well, it is a heart change, but that heart change doesn't just come out of nowhere, that heart change, it's not. It is something we do, but it's not something we do. And what I mean by that is that we have to prioritize time. With the Lord, we have to prioritize time, and his word right says we look to the things that are unseen. How can we know what is coming if we aren't in God's work, you know? How can we look to the fact that we will be with God forever and look forward to that if we are not enjoying being in his presence now, and so I think prioritizing time every single day whatever possible in God's word is the most important thing that we can do. But don't just read it and move on with your day. God's word is him talking to us. Spend time talking back to him, join the conversation, Spend time praying. Not just about like God, help me have a good day, no help me with this or that, but when you're in his words, say God, please make these truths real in my life. Because we can't do that, we can't do the heart change. But he can sit in his presence, enjoy time with him, even if that means that you're sitting in nature and just in the quiet and in your mind thanking him for all that he's made, because he reveals himself through his creation as well. So, yeah, we can't just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and say I'm gonna shove down the pain. I'm going to shove down the sadness. I'm going to shove down the frustration. We bring all of that to the Lord and we know that he walks with us and he is the only one who can transform our heart.

00:25:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll tell us. Is there a biblical concept of love that you think applies to this topic today? Oh?

00:25:19
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely. I mean again, how much time do you have? And I've kind of alluded to it a little bit. But you know, one thing that I would say that has been so beautiful as I have walked through Scripture and looked at these ideas of being satisfied is the fact that God loves us so much that he wants us to be happy, like he wants us to find joy in him. You know, there are so many things that we see in scripture as like rules and restrictions, but ultimately all of those things are so that we can have more of the only thing that will actually make us happy. It's so that we aren't turning to things that aren't going to satisfy. God says in Isaiah fifty five, come all who thirst, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come buy and eat. And then he says, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy. Listen diligently to me eat what is good delight in rich food. So God is calling us come delight. Please stop wasting your life by spending it on all of these things that are just going to leave you sick. You're drinking this water that the world is holding out to you, saying this will satisfy you if you're thirsty, drink this, But there's poison in that water. And the water that God offers is living water that wells up into us into a spring of eternal life. And so yeah, God calls us to be content, to be satisfied in him, not because he doesn't want to give us the good things we want, because he wants to give us himself. And that's because he loves us.

00:26:51
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, Okay, so tell us something you are loving right now.

00:26:56
Speaker 1: Ooh yeah, okay. I am loving doing pot from my bedroom. I have okay, I have a pilates app that I use right now. I know pilates is all the rage these days, but I also have hyper mobile joints and so the real wobbly and pilates is great for stabilizing them and strengthening them. So it's been a really great time every day because the videos are real short, I'm doing I'm doing the quick stuff here. It's been a really great time to just be grateful for the body that God has given me and to steward it well, even in the places that maybe it's weaker than for some other people.

00:27:33
Speaker 2: Okay, so do you actually have a reformer or are you just doing a block and a foam will learn all those things?

00:27:37
Speaker 1: I'm doing that pilates, yeah, plates.

00:27:39
Speaker 2: Okay, what's the app?

00:27:40
Speaker 1: Tell us it's called Lindy.

00:27:42
Speaker 2: Well, okay, how do you spell that?

00:27:45
Speaker 1: L I N D y W E L.

00:27:47
Speaker 2: L Okay, we will put it in the show notes. This is yeah, you heard it here first everyone, Okay, all right, well awesome, we'll have to try that. I walk a lot. I do like my weight advist, I do my so on, do some weights. But it's all always good to switch it up a little bit. Yeah.

00:28:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's very restorative too, like strengthening but also restorative. You can lie down.

00:28:06
Speaker 2: While sign me up, Sign me up. Well, I know that I want to stay connected with you. I'm sure listeners are going Twentywo're gonna want to grab a copy of this new devotional, So tell us how we can best do that. Yeah.

00:28:18
Speaker 1: Absolutely. The devotional is available wherever books are sold. You can get it on Amazon. You can get it wherever you typically buy books. It's called You Are Satisfied, and it's a forty day devotional. You can also find me. I have a website, Joanna Kimbrel dot com with a few pieces of information there some the other things I've written, as well as a place to request me as a speaker or a Bible teacher if you would like that. And I'm also on Instagram sporadically not Joanna Kimbrel.

00:28:45
Speaker 2: Well, we will include that in the show notes as well. But would you pray for us as we close today?

00:28:49
Speaker 1: Absolutely? I would love to. Father God, You are such a good and loving and kind God, and you desire for us to be satisfied. You also know that the only place that we can find that is in you. So God, we are so grateful that you have chosen to reveal yourself to us through your word, through your creation, through your son God, and that you are so gracious to call us to yourself, both through the good gifts that we have that point to the artists who made them, but also through the sorrows and the trials that show us how desperately we need you. We need your help, we need your strength, We need your forgiveness. So God, thank you, thank you that you are so good and so kind and so powerful and so loving to us. God, would you help us to see the ways that we're satisfied or we're seeking satisfaction in things that do not satisfy God, and draw us closer to You. God, help us to find joy that goes along sorrow in your son. We pray all these things in his name, the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

00:29:54
Speaker 2: Amen, Joanna, Thank you You've encouraged my heart so much today and I appreciate your time so much.

00:30:00
Speaker 1: Fun. Thank you for thank you for inviting me on.

00:30:03
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening to the Love Offering Podcast. I hope today's conversation encouraged and inspired you to love God, love others, and even love yourself a little more. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with our friend and lieb a review. It helps others find the show and spread the message of love even further. To connect with me, visit me on my website at Rachelkadams dot com. Why you're there, be sure to download the Love Always Devotional, a free resource to help you realize how beloved you already are. Don't forget to pick up a copy of Joanna Kimberl's book, You Are Satisfied, a beautiful reminder that the deepest longings of your heart were never meant to be ignored. They were meant to lead you to the only one who can truly satisfy. A special thank you to Life Audio for supporting this podcast and making it possible to find more great podcasts visitlifeaudio dot com. Thanks again for joining us today. Until next time, let's make our lives an offering of love.