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Sunday, September 5 |
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| He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12) | |||
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Contentment
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13 NIV) Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5 NIV) Are you content? Do you think it is God's design for His children to always be content? What does it mean to be content?
I would define contentment to be completely free from any need or want. It is a deep sense of satisfaction. Does this describe you and I? I think we would all agree that God has made provision for and intends that all believers are content. The scripture passages above tell us that in God we have complete contentment. If we place our complete faith in God, we cannot but have complete contentment. What could we possibly lack that God has not provided?
An important step in being content is to intellectually accept and understand that God has provided all we could ever need or want. What we might lack, we can be satisfied knowing that our loving God knows our need. Any lack of contentment on our part is a shortcoming of our faith and trust in God. It seems to me that most believers would have this position, but this may not be true. If we cannot honestly agree that God has truly given us all that we need or want, I think we need to work through our understanding of who God is through the light of scripture.
Contentment is the result of a trusting, healthy, abiding relationship with God. You can't seek after contentment itself. You must seek after God for in Him and Him alone can we find contentment. The following familiar passage is simple yet profound and essential to finding contentment in God (there is contentment in no one else)
What if through our choices, open rebellion to God, spiritual neglect or circumstances beyond our control we believe we are not where God would have intended us to be at this stage of our life? As we look back on our life maybe we don't see God's clear leading so we assume we can't be where He intends us to be. If we are not where we think God wants us to be, even if we now seek Him with all our heart, how can we be content where we are? How can God use us in this position? To think that our actions, mistakes or circumstances can somehow confound the plans of our all powerful and all wise God, is to so underestimate the greatness of our God. Just as there is no sin which is not completely and thoroughly washed away by the blood of Christ, so there is no circumstance which would prevent God from using us and blessing us. I'm not saying God would bless us as we openly sin against Him, but as we earnestly and honestly seek after Him, He draws near to us. Our choices may have made our circumstances difficult or we may simply be the victim of difficult circumstances, but we can place our hope and trust in Him in the midst of it all.
Maybe you do feel content, but we must carefully examine ourselves to be sure that we are content for the right reasons. The fact that you are reading this email tells me you have the technology and freedom to enjoy what many people in the world know nothing about. You probably have many physical comforts you can enjoy. In this situation, it would be so easy to be content because we are so physically blessed. Do you spend your life enjoying the Creator or the creation? Strange as it may seem, we who are so physically blessed may be the most uncontent people in the world. Don't be satisfied with that which passes away. Find your satisfaction in our Eternal God and nowhere else.
If you are not content, why do you think that is? Why do you wish things were different? I would challenge you to place your complete trust in God, particularly in the areas where you are not content today. Be honest with Him in your pain. Don't look for a particular solution, but seek after God. We limit God so by seeking after the one thing we think will make us feel better. Our infinite and all powerful God wants to do so much more than we can possibly fathom or understand. Take your eyes off of yourself and place them on God. There is full contentment in Him.
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