Contentment

Well, I believe it’s been about a week since I’ve taken the time to capture my thoughts and spew them out of my mind; but in that week, God has shown me a lot of things about myself. I’ve been attending a class on Wednesday nights at my church, (FBC), called Self Confrontation. I know I have mentioned this before, but it’s been an area of my life that I have, in some aspects, been “consumed” with. The name speaks for itself – I have been learning to CONFRONT the sin in my OWN life…a very dangerous and disgusting thing to do. Within the past week, the majority of the things God has chosen to show me and teach me have been in regards to DEALING with the sin I harbor in my life. God has really taken the past week to beat into my head how much I NEED Him, His mercy, and His grace. (Ahh, I love that word: grace – God’s unmerited favor.  ) Something I have been dealing with personally is decisions: decisions I have to make to die to myself and the decision to learn to deal with decisions others make. I was reading a lesson in chapter 14 of my Self Confrontation book about marriage. You may be wondering why I was reading a chapter that deals with marriage. Well, the first reason is due to the fact that this particular chapter is the one that comes after the chapter I had just finished reading. The second reason is because whether I’m married or not, which I’m not, what reason is there to not dig into the Word of God and seek out what He says about marriage and the roles the husband and the wife are to play? Exactly…I couldn’t think of a good one either – so that’s why I’m reading it! As I came to the close of the chapter I came across a statement and a verse that simply captivated me and I quickly grabbed my pen and let its dark ink move beneath the words. "If you are single, you shouldn't be searching for a spouse. If the Lord has someone for you, nothing can keep you from meeting your future spouse. You NEVER need to look. Instead you are to focus on serving the Lord with all your heart. In the process of SERVING the Lord, He may lead you to the one who is to be your husband or wife. But you are not to have that search be the focus of your life. You are to be CONTENT in the circumstances into which God has placed you and delight in serving the Lord with all your energy." The reason this stuck out to me was because it seems within the past 6 months of my life I could name off about 10 people who have been so set on having that, “special person,” in their lives and make it seem like their life won’t be complete until they have them. It appears to me that the more we try to look for the person God has chosen for us, the more discontent we become. I will end with this: Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” I love how the statement from the book said that “In the process of SERVING THE LORD,” He may lead us to the right person we are to spend our lives with. Are you content in your circumstances? Jesus Christ is enough – no matter how sunken you ship may be. Trust Him, Love Him, and LET Him be ENOUGH.