Don’t Trade Your Soul for a Coupon Deal

Well friend, life has a way of ‘a-hittin’ you sideways, kinda like a sudden Texas wind gust that sends your porch cushions ‘a-flyin’. A while back, I reconnected with an old classmate I hadn’t seen in over twenty‑five years. She called to say she was ‘a-comin’ to hear me speak, so we met up beforehand. When she walked in, I could see it plain as day. Grief had been ‘a-sittin’ real heavy on her shoulders.

She told me she’d lost her first husband unexpectedly. “I didn’t just lose him,” she said, “I lost myself.” Then she shared how her second marriage fell apart under the weight of unhealed sorrow. “I tried to outrun the grief,” she admitted, “but it kept right on ‘a-catchin’ up. So, I filled the empty places with anything that promised relief: shopping, wine, work, you name it.”

I gently said, “You know, the Bible says, ‘You will seek Me and find Me,’” (Jeremiah 29:13).

She sighed. “I’ve sought everything but God, and  none of it has worked.”

Once upon a time, she and I were ‘a-runnin’ the same in the same circles, ‘a-chasin’ the same shiny distractions. The difference was, I stopped the chase early, but she kept ‘a-runnin’ till her soul was worn thin.

And isn’t that how it goes? We look at folks who don’t follow Jesus and think, “Maybe they’re ‘a-havin’ a whole let more fun.” But, friend, looks can fool you. What sparkles from a distance might be a big, ‘ole heartbreak up close. Sin always sends a bill, and it never offers a payment plan.

Jesus said it straight: “What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36–37). And wouldn’t it be handy if we had a little “Check Soul” light on our dashboard? But, no, we just keep on ’a-drivin’ till something starts to smokin’.

Losing your soul doesn’t happen all at once. It happens when you’re busy ‘a-tryin’ to fix life your own way, ‘a-chasin’ what the world swears will satisfy. But real peace, real healing, real fulfillment, they’re only found in Jesus. Everything else is just spiritual fast food.

So, don’t trade your soul for the world’s bargain‑bin promises. God meets your needs, not according to your math, but according to His riches.

Lord, help me stop ’a-chasin’ what can’t heal or satisfy. Teach me to rest in Your presence, trust Your goodness, and let Your peace fill the broken places. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

And mercy sakes remember, our God supplies all our needs from His abundance, which is a real big comfort, because if He used our math, He’d be ‘a-tryin’ to calculate peace with grief, coupons, a half‑charged calculator and yesterday’s partially finished grocery list!

With joy,

Gwen