The real deal

Knock offs are never as good as the real thing. Just ask any girl who fell for the "Coach" bags spread out along the streets of Manhattan. From far away you can't tell the difference between the brown leather and signature "C" logo of a sidewalk bag compared to one bought in a legitimate, authorized Coach retailer store. But once you get up close and really look there is no question that the two are not one in the same.
The cheap imitation bag is fun for kids and those ladies looking for a designer fashion without the price tag, but for someone who is looking for quality and longevity the purchase won't stand the test in time. That person would be better spent putting in a greater investment for the long term benefit of a bag with real leather and intricate stitching. The zipper of the real deal Coach will be of a higher quality, less likely to become jammed or stuck. The sidewalk purse, on the other hand, is made of fake leather, cheap materials and shoddy workmanship. That bag won't stand the test of time, maybe even not the whole season of the fashion cycle. You'll be buying a new purse before you know it.
And so it goes with life in general. There are lots of knock offs to grab our attention, lure us away from the real deal. We get sucked into fleeting fixes for satisfaction and happiness while we abandon and neglect the true source of joy that is ever lasting - never ending or wearing out.
But our eyes are wandering to the sidewalk sales. We see cheap entertainment, money, experiences that give an adrenaline rush and momentary thrill, a relationship, a career, a change of scenery or a change in hair styles. We are always looking to something that we can touch and feel to fill the void of happiness and satisfaction. Yet, every one of these things proves to be short-lived in its ability to satisfy us. It breaks, wears out, gets on our nerves, fades into our memory or simply isn't as great as we originally built it up in our minds to be. All of these things turn out to be cheap, weak and fleeting. They are imitations of the real thing. And just like the purse for $20.00 that cost $200.00 in the real store, these things that looked great on the outside aren't built for the long haul.
Any replacement for God given joy will prove to disappoint. There is nothing that can fulfill us like God. There is no one who can sustain us like God. There is no joy like the joy found in God.
Nothing on this earth can fill the God sized void in our hearts. We can try all day long - all life long - to find a suitable replacement but our search will be in vain. We will jump from one temporary fix to the next. It will be an exhausting hunt with emotional highs and extreme lows. But if we become content with God filling our void, relying on him to give us happiness, we will be truly satisfied. We will know the meaning of true joy. Our hearts will not need to go on a scavenger hunt for the next best thing, the latest craze or the deal of the day. Our hearts will be content, in no need of further knock off fulfillment. Ultimately satisfied to no longer wander.