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| This has nothing to do with my post. It is just a lovely picture of someone's flowers. I was walking by a house and snuck over to take a picture of these flowers. Periwinkle...I would classify them as the color periwinkle. Love! |
Proverbs 19:23 "The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble."
Philippians 4:11b "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."
Philippians 4:12 "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."
Hebrews 13:5 "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."
How would you like to be "untouched by trouble"? How would you like to know that you are never "left nor forsaken"? You can! Learn with me won't you?...
I have been writing and learning a lot lately about greed. A key to NOT becoming a person full of greed…is contentment! I have been actively learning the wonderfully difficult Christ-like trait of contentment for the past few years now. Things that I had come to know and brought me stability and comfort, were now gone. Things that made my life easier, were now given up. Things that others considered ‘necessary’, were really…just not. Just because your circumstance is not easy. Not convenient. Not what you think you deserve…does not mean you have the right to be discontent. (Light bulb moment!)
Let me ask you this…if everything that you know and love was taken from you…would you choose contentment? If the ease of your lifestyle was changed to what seemed impossibly difficult, would you choose contentment? If the people that you counted on were no longer there, would you choose contentment? If you felt completely abandoned and forgotten, would you still choose contentment?
What is the price that you are willing to pay to learn to be like Christ in this way? What will you give up? What will you allow to be taken from you? What will it take for you to know that HE has your back when no one else does?
I feel like God has allowed me to personally go through quite a journey to learn this trait. (I won’t take you on the journey because for one…it will be mentally and emotionally exhausting for all of us. Two I don’t want to give the enemy the pleasure of reading about all the crap he tried to use to break me. And three…I am not into pity parties. They’re a real downer.) I can pretty much guarantee that I would’ve been unwilling had I known what was to come. I would’ve run the other way had I been shown the whole picture. But God KNEW that I could handle it. God KNEW that I would be a better wife, mother, daughter and friend if I learned to be content with little. That I would then thoroughly enjoy each gift He gave me. It is a wonderful gift, this learneding (yep that is what I meant to type…learned and learning) trait of contentment. I am still pulling in the vastness of His Glory. I have not arrived to where I eventually will end up…but the strive is a worthy process.
I am so in awe and love at the awesomeness of my Savior. I don’t deserve Him. I don’t share enough of Him. I don’t prove myself faithful always to Him. But I am so beyond happy that HE proves Himself faithful to me.
What is your trial? What is it in your life right now that seems as though it could be a link to learning contentment? Grab it. Grab hold of Christ and trust His path. Believe that He has YOUR best interest in mind. Enjoy whatever you have been blessed with. Don’t wish your days away…waiting for “IF ONLY’S…”. Take each nugget of God’s goodness and be thankful.
Ever think that being a parent is a thankless job? Imagine. Just imagine…
You lend a hand of protection…and you hear “Why me?”.
You provide an exact need…and you hear whining “Why not more?”.
You give a gift…and see jealousy rise up.
You bless…and you feel as if it goes unnoticed.
You can see where I am going with this right? Our Father has seen our worst. He has seen us act as though we were misbehaving children. He has seen us lie. Cheat. Steal. Hurt. Envy. Destroy. He has felt those things with us. He has protected and then watched us whine about it. He has provided…and not been thanked or watched the credit be given to someone else. The exact thing that we sometimes get upset with human nature for…we then do to the only One who doesn’t deserve it.
As a wife and mother I have felt unappreciated at times, and yet I whine after God meets my ‘need’…that my ‘want’ was ignored. The nerve. I mean really. Nothing like the pot calling the kettle black huh? I long for appreciation…and yet I don’t show it. This is where my learned contentment comes in. When I learn that I can not expect love as I subconsciously think it should be shown…I will be much more content. “Mankind” was not designed to be my ALL. They were designed to be my helpmates, my friends, my prayer partners. My ALL comes from ONE source. One God. One Savior. One Healer. One Unconditional Love. Disappointment can be a major contentment crusher. Do your best to not let disappointments by ‘men’ (as in mankind…I’m not man hating here)…become a foothold for the enemy. He will grasp at anything that works.
Do you want to know who teaches me daily about being content, happy, joyful with what I have and what I am? My children. You want to see an example? Look for children who love to be with their family.
My kids love to spend time with my husband and I. (We had a family milkshake and movie night earlier this week…and it was absolutely adorable. The giggles. The cuddles. The ease of how little it takes to make them appreciate just being our family. It was an eye-opener from our formerly hectic lifestyle.)
My kids love to see their grandparents. They LOVE to play with their cousins. They love to see their friends. Simple. It isn’t fancy. It isn’t impossible. They love easily. They love deeply. And I LOVE to love people like that!
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