Contentment
Written by Jennifer P.
My dear fellow readers. What a deep topic contentment is. I could probably write for ever and never reach the bottom of it. With the new year ahead of us and new tasks awaiting, I must really ponder this question in my heart. What is it to be truly content in our Lord's will. Is it to be at peace with what He has chosen for us in our life? Yes it is this, but it is also much more. Being content must be being at peace with God's control of every intimate part of our lives. It is of giving to Him the little things as well as the major things we have. It is placing all on Him and in His control and resting in the fact that He is the director of our every step. How often we see only the trial that is before us and worry about the here and now. Or how much more we worry about what is going to happen in the future and what we need to do now to prepare for it. It is true that God has given each of us a specific task in our lives that we must accomplish. He has placed us as stewards of His creation upon this earth. Yet I think that we often make more of our responsibilities than we are supposed to. We take things into our own hands and then wonder why things are not going right and suddenly pile up upon us. God said, "Take My yoke upon you,... for My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30). Have we ever noticed that verse? The yoke is God's, not ours! It is a light thing, for He is the one bearing it. Friends, are we truly giving all to God and letting Him carry it? If we could only have the faith the trust in Him and let His perfect peace rule in our lives, what joy and contentment we would have.
As I ponder the topic more, I realize that being content is not just giving everything to Him and letting Him control our circumstances, but it is also the being willing to accept what God has chosen for us. We may find His will and allow that to be our purpose, but are we truly happy in the doing of His will? I think of a poem that I came across where I work and it says,
"Many, if God should make them kings
Might not disgrace the throne He gave.
How few could as well fulfill
The lowlier office of a slave?
Great he may be who can command,
And rule it with just and tender sway;
Yet is diviner wisdom taught
By him who knows how to obey.
(by A. A. Proctor)
Am I really happy in the place that God has put me? Am I content to serve behind the scenes without the praise of men? Yet if I do, I am praised in God's eyes. Psalm 22:29 says "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." What is my real purpose in the work I am doing? Do I desire the praise of men or the praise of God? Do I really delight myself in the small task of cleaning a bathroom or painting a sign, or do I long for "something better?" To be truly content, I must come to the realization that if what I am doing is the Lord's will for me than there is nothing "better" for me to be doing. I may not be able to travel to distant lands and labor to bring many souls to him. I may not become famous in the eyes of men and have a biography written about me. But God has given me the ability to pray. He has given me the testimony of my life before those around me. And if I keep Him as my focus, then I will be content in His will. I may not always understand the twists and turns in the path He has chosen for me, yet I know that He is God. His ways are not my ways, nor my thoughts His thoughts. And when I am tempted to fret about my cares and woes, I must run to him. David knew the meaning of what it was to rest in the Secret of His Presence. I pray that you too may know the meaning of contentment in our Lord's will in this next year.
In the Secret of His Presence
(This is an old hymn that is hard to find but worth looking for. I pray it
blesses your heart as much as it has blessed mine.)
In the Secret of His presence, how my soul delights to hide!
Oh how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus' side!
Earthly care can never vex me, neither trials lay me low;
For when Satan come to tempt me, to the Secret Place I go,
To the secret place I go.
When my soul is faint and thirsty, 'neath the shadow of His wing
There is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring;
And my Saviour rests beside me, as we hold communion sweet;
If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet,
What He says when thus we meet.
Only this I know; I tell Him all my doubts, my griefs and fears;
Oh how patiently He listens! and my drooping soul He cheers;
Do you think He ne'er reproves me? What a false friend He would be,
If He never, never told of the sins which He must see,
Of the sins which He must see.
Would you like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord?
Go and hide beneath His shadow: this shall then be your reward;
And when-e'er you leave the silence of that happy meeting place,
You must mind and bear the image of the Master in your face,
Of the Master in your face.
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This page was last modified on Wednesday, September 01, 2010