A Contented Heart

When we suffer, we often accuse God, as if it is entirely His fault that we are inconvenienced. As if He caused it. However, we can put suffering in its proper perspective, when we see that Jesus also suffered. He suffered for our sins. He was made perfect through His suffering. Everyone suffers physically, mentally, emotionally or financially in one way or another. Only those who turn to God, however, will also receive His comfort and grace during our trouble (Romans 8:28).

God gives us eternal life from the moment we come to Him in salvation (John 17:3). Therefore, we can give Him thanks regardless of our circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This thankfulness gives us a happy life, even if we are experiencing unhappy conditions (Psalm 103:5). Our situation in life does not define our character or our identity. We can live above these natural issues, by finding our strength and joy in Christ who is our all in all (Colossians 1:17).

Having a Godly attitude along with contentment helps us to grow in Christ (1Timothy 6:6). We brought nothing into this world, and we must leave everything behind. Therefore, we find our contentment in God’s provision of food and clothing (1Timothy 6:8). God gives us everything we need to find joy, even in our tribulation. He also uses our discomfort to comfort others. Having worldly riches and a love of money presents a trap and a temptation. They cause us to entertain many worldly desires, which may plunge us into ruin and destruction.

God encourages us to pursue eternal life and to flee from worldly gain. Instead, he wants us to seek His holiness, faith, love, gentleness and endurance to run the race (1 Timothy 6:6-12). Possessing Christ is the main ingredient in living a joyful life (Romans 5:3). His grace is all we really need to have power, which is perfected in our weakness. He teaches us contentment even in the face of insults, sorrow, trouble and persecution for Christ’s sake. Christ in us is strong even in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Dishonest gain is a reproach, as is greed and materialism (Luke 3:14). If we covet our neighbors’ possessions, the envy will rot our bones; but a contented heart gives life to our body, as well as to our soul and spirit (Proverbs 14:30). As we respect and obey the Lord, He leads us into life and godliness, so that we can rest in contentment so sweet that we are not even disturbed by trouble anymore (Proverbs 19:23). As we serve the Lord first, He provides everything we need (Psalm 34:10; Matthew 6:33).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to be content no matter what situation we encounter. Help us to prosper in spirit even in humble physical means; and keep us humble in prosperous physical means as well. Christ in us provides the inner strength to endure any hardship (Philippians 4:11-13). Christ in us is our only true source of contentment. Remind us to walk in Your ways and to seek Your face, and You will provide everything we need.

Thought for the Day:

Like Job, we will find that God will provide for us more than we ever lost through our trials and tribulation.

A Stress-Free Life

Prior to finding salvation through Jesus Christ we had little more than our own resources to rely on while facing the issues of life. We developed a routine of depending on our self, with a little help from our friends and family. Life was hard, and every little bump in the road threw us off course. We had to fight with all of our strength to regain our equilibrium. We stressed out under the strain and trials of daily living. Once we came to Christ, we carried these same habits and defense mechanisms into our new Christian walk.

We continue to overreact to life from our own energy and the reserve, which we built up within us. Living life through human achievement is deadly! Physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exhaustion and illness are all the result of us living life through our own efforts. We get weary when we overly schedule our time or when we take on too many projects that God does not lead us to perform. We often feel like we are separated from God and He cannot help us, because He is too far away up in Heaven.

Life is always hard as long we as depend upon our own inner strength to conquer its difficulties. We want to please God with our life; but when we feel like we are doing His will, we often fail. At some point, however, we start to realize that we are struggling for no reason. As long as we separate our life into two compartments: our humanity and His divinity within us, we are divided and weakened. Once we realize that our humanity is already dead, and our life is now hidden with Christ in God, then we start to live only through His divinity within us (Colossians 3:3). 

Life is no longer a challenge, because it is now an adventure! We are united with Christ in salvation and perfected in sanctification. We no longer need to react to life from our lack, because He faces life through us with all of the power of the triune God. We are not called by God to live life for Him, but to step aside and allow Him to live life in and through us. God did not give us a faint, fearful spirit, because His love, strength and self-discipline reside within us by His Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7). Recognize the moments of His joy in your day and focus on Him as His Spirit directs your steps.  

When we realize Christ dwells in us, and we dwell in Him, then we succeed at living in serenity and fulfillment all of the time (John 17:23). It is useless to dream of or to wish for a problem-free life. In this world, we are guaranteed to have problems (John 16:33). However, they are not our problems to handle. They are God's problem, and He has all the wisdom and resources needed to meet these opportunities through us during each moment of our day. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to control your spirit, body and soul – your mind, choices and emotions, and you will live in abundant life, strength and peace (Romans 8:6; Psalm 29:11).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, all that You require from us is that we obey Your Spirit's direction, and that we allow You to work in and through us. You desire for to take a step back and view the issues of life through Your eyes. We hide under the shelter of Your wings and live with joy in our heart and a smile on our face, no matter how disturbing or challenging life becomes. The more we allow You to live through us, the easier we walk in this realm of faith and Spirit. We center our mind and emotions on You and we walk in complete peace (Isaiah 26:3-4; John 14:27). You deal with the temporal aspects in our life, as we focus on the eternal aspects moment by moment throughout the day (Galatians 5:16,25; Isaiah 41:10-13).

Thought for the Day:
“The love of Christ controls us.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14