... Contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NKJV)
"A gift?... For me?... Oh thank you!... I just love gifts!.................. Oh... it's... uh... nice... I guess... um... you know... I don't really like this color... and it's not the brand I normally buy myself... oh, and you see this? There's a little mark on it too. Do you think I could exchange it and get something else?"
"But I picked it out for you."
"I understand, but I'm just not real happy with this. You know, all the other things that You've given me have been pretty great, but this is just not exactly what I wanted."
"But it's what I chose for you to have. You may not want it right now, but it's what you need."
Can you imagine having that conversation with God, telling Him that you're not happy with a gift that
He gave you?! Discontentment is just that!! Everything you have is what the Lord has blessed you with. EVERYTHING! How you choose to respond to what He's given is up to you. You can't choose
what He gives you. You can't pick things you'd like and then pass on the other things that might pose a problem for you.
Right now it may be easy to be discontent because you are behind and things are chaotic. It's easy to get frustrated and say to yourself, "As soon as I get this done, things will all fall into place. Then I'll be so happy." Be careful though. Discontentment is not an emotion that the Lord is "okay" with us having. It's like telling Him that He doesn't know what we need.
Are you content with what you have right now? If you
never got another thing... If you
never got a bigger house... If you
never had a child... If you
never went on a cruise... would you find yourself content? If the laundry didn't get done... If your husband lost his job... If the cancer didn't go away... would you be happy in the Lord anyway? What would it take to make you content for everything you have? A fire? A flood? A terminal illness? A death? If everything you have were gone tomorrow, would you look back on it and know only then, how much you truly were blessed with?
There's no gray area when it comes to being content. You either are, or you aren't. The Lord has blessed you with many things, by way of possessions and in the people in your life. You will not take any of those things with you when you leave this world, but you will leave people behind who will remember you. Will you be remembered as someone who was "happy in the Lord anyway"? If not, you have some work to do.
Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I'm sorry for being discontent. Please forgive me. I know everything I have has been Your gift to me. I'm sorry for the times I was ungrateful in receiving them. I know that even the things that I didn't want, were things You knew I needed. Thank You for all the blessings you've given me. Please help me to have a content heart, knowing that You will take care of everything. Please help me to not be dissatisfied with my house, or any other thing, but to be happy and rejoice in You always.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
© 2004 Amy Verlennich
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