Monday, January 25, 2010

Contentment

Well hello my friends once again. It’s been a couple of weeks and I just finished the first week of school. Already I can see God working within my life through my classes and through the lives of people. One topic that has been on my mind as of late is the topic of contentment. I have been wrestling with this idea a lot the last year or so, especially with last semester-aka Fall. When most young Christian college women hear someone say contentment, they are thinking more along the lines of “relationships.” Well this post is infact about a different kind of contentment and goes very close with thankfulness.

During Truth & Life Conference, one of the Home Economics professors gave a presentation on contentment. At first my pride started talking me out of it, saying why do you need to go. You’ve got this one figured out, but then I looked back over the past semester and realized how much I had struggled with this idea, along with security. We all have our comfort bubbles. I personally like to know what I am going to do with my life, and within the past year, it has been so turned inside out and upside down that now I don’t have a clue what God has for me after college. There is always dreams, but that is completely different than reality. Over the past year God has taught me so much about how I am not in control and really it is a reliance and dependence on Him that shows the true test of faith. That whole question of “Do you trust Me?” Oh that one’s a tough one for me. I want to be self-reliant and say “Yes Lord, of course I trust you.” But honestly if He looked directly into my eyes, my very soul, honestly would I have the same answer? Could I say, “yes Lord, I trust You completely in every area of my life, and have surrendered complete control and lordship to You.” To be honest I would have to say probably not. I couldn’t do it, because deep within, I know the truth. Deep inside there is still this fleshly human fear that lies to us, saying that God doesn’t know what is best and I should stay with the safe and comfortable. This fear that God will not keep His promises. We want control, we are still fighting the flesh that desires to make ourselves god and suppress the truth. It is this fear that we will be completely and utterly out of control that terrifies us to death. We fool ourselves into thinking that we know what is best for us when it is God who really knows what is best.

So how does this relate back to contentment? For me it was a matter of trust and control of if I really believe what God has said in His Word and His promises. That He is the way and the truth. That He is the one true God, and God alone. Holy and righteous and Christ will come again as conquering King. For me in order to be content, it was a matter of me surrendering what control I had in my life in order to leave it with Christ. It is amazing how so many heart issues we deal with can interrelate so much to each other. So for those of you who were not there, there are some of the key notes that were given on contentment:

Developing A Heart of Contentment
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” –Philippians 4:11-12

If I could change anything about my life I would….

“When you get what you want, do you want what you get?”

Contentment is something that has to be learned. It is something that takes work, a total revamp of one’s mindset and perspective.

Those who are content are those who are thankful. They thank God more than they ask of God.

One thing that was an eye opener was she mentioned that: “discontentment is a sin because it is a characteristic of someone who doubts the goodness of God”. This was news to me as I never had thought about this before.

I will leave you with this list of reminders that she gave us to think about. It definitely puts things in perspective for me.

1. Never allow yourself to complain about anything
2. Never picture yourself anywhere else
3. Never compare yourself with others
4. Never allow yourself to wish this or that
5. Never dwell on tomorrow→ tomorrow is God’s

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