CONTENTMENT MATTERS



Do you look at your life and see only what isn't there. I don't have a husband. I don't have a degree. I don't own a home. I don't have a job title. All you see is what isn't in your life. And then, when you do look at what is there, you don't see it for what it is, you only see it for what it isn't. It's not the house of my dreams. It's not the ideal job. She's not the perfect wife. And on an on. You know how it goes. Focus on what you have, not what you don't have. Enjoy things for what they are instead of only seeing them for what they aren't. This habit will take you a long way in the direction of contentment.

Max Lucado tells the story about a man in the midst of financial collapse who went to his pastor for counseling. "I've lost everything," he said. The pastor said, "I'm sorry to hear that you've lost your faith."
"No," the man said, "I still have my faith." The pastor said, "Then I'm sorry to hear that you've lost your character." The man said, "I never said that. I still have my character." The pastor said, "Then I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your salvation." The man said, "That's not what I said. I didn't lose my salvation." The pastor said, "So you have your faith, your character, your salvation. It seems to me that you haven't lost anything that really matters."

When we look at the stuff that we've accumulated up to this point, some of us have done better than others. But no amount of stuff can replace the intangible blessings of life. That's why Jesus said, “Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.” (Luke 12:15 The Message.)

I encourage you to look for the presence of those intangible things in your life. Relationships. Friendships. Love. Happiness. The joy of listening to good music, or reading a good book, or learning a new skill. These are things that you can't put a balance sheet or a profit and loss statement, but these are things that add meaning to each day.

I don't always get as much as I want, but I always get as much as I need. There have been times in my life when I've almost demanded things from God, related to my health, related to my finances, related to my ministry, related to my family and at the time I thought that I knew what I wanted and I thought that I knew what I needed and my prayers weren't answered in the way I expect. However, in the aftermath of those missed expectations, I was able to see the hand of God at work, taking care of me, providing what was best for me, rather than what I felt was expedient. God is my Shepherd and David says that contentment is found in the Lord and I will not lack anything. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1)

You have the privilege of being able to bring all of your cares to God, to make everything a matter of prayer, to ask for anything and everything and you have the comfort of knowing that he will filter through your prayers and give you only what is best for you. This is the best thing about having a shepherd. You don't have to sweat the daily details of life. God is looking at after you. What you need will come to you when you need it. You might be tempted to think, "Does that absolve me of all responsibility for getting things done?" Of course, it doesn't. There's a difference between being shepherd led and being spoon fed. Saying, "The Lord is my shepherd" doesn't mean that you live the rest of your life in a high chair. But it does mean that you can live day-to-day with the confidence that God is watching out for you, and he's providing what you need in the hour you need it.

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