8/26/2016 0 Comments Contentment Philippians 4:12-13New International Version (NIV)
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. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. I am finally learning to be content in all circumstances. Boy, this has been a hard lesson for me to learn. The most fascinating thing about the contentment I have discovered is the effect it has on my past. The more content I am with my now, the easier it is to pick out the moments of happiness from my past. I can look back at the Christmases that were so meager, but meaningful. I look at moments that were once difficult and find the traces of blessings that are interwoven with the hardships. I look back with fondness through lenses of gratefulness that tint the memories towards the good and shadow out the bad. The growing contentment today helps me regret less of the past. I’m not under the delusion that everything was peachy keen, but I no longer lament the past with such a sense of dissatisfaction. The more I seek the Lord’s will in my now the more I see his presence in my then. Growing contentment allows for freedom to accept what was a minor hiccup or, perhaps, a major trial. I can’t change the past, but I can accept it and rejoice in the good and dismiss the negative. As my heart softened and the bitterness left me, an acceptance of the old came to me. There were plenty of good times to counter the bad, I was just too focused on what was lacking not on what I had, that’s what contentment does, it helps to see the blessings in the burdens of life. I realize now that the longings I once had wouldn’t have brought happiness. I have cupboards and closets full of things that I thought would once bring contentment. My main focus over the past year is getting rid of the collections of crap that brought more confusion and chaos and discontent! How long did I waste time striving for items that now irritate me? I have all that I need right now and that’s enough for contentment. God has blessed me so incredibly much that I say I truly feel contentment with my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t try for something more. The Lord instilled dreams in me for a reason. But contentment comes from seeing my now as sufficient my future as promising, and my past as beneficial,
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AuthorI am a Christian, a wife, a mom, and a part-time basket case who wants to be a full time writer.
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