Satisfied, no matter what happens?

 

On our vacation south, it became obvious that the media accounts from there do not match the attitudes of the general population. I was impressed with the open friendliness and gracious actions of all that we met. None of that reflected news of shootings, riots, and lawlessness.

MacArthur makes a different comparison. He writes of a time when he witnessed angry mobs in his city who killed people and set of buildings on fire. During the chaos, people ransacked and looted stores with even moms, dads, and little children loading their vehicles anything they wanted.

He described this as “the most graphic demonstration of lawlessness” he had ever seen and a vivid display of the selfishness in human hearts unrestrained by law and order. He called it the results of a “me first” condition where instant gratification takes priority and said it was as if they were saying, “I’m not satisfied with the way life’s treating me, so I’m entitled to grab everything I can — no matter who gets hurt in the process.”

His contrasted this with a passage in the NT that describes OT believers, summing it up with:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:13–16)

Those people of faith trusted God in whatever circumstances they experienced. He had promised them a wonderful land of their own, but they never possessed it. Instead, they were strangers and refugees even in their own land, yet they looked forward to a better place — that heavenly country that would be theirs for eternity.

I tend not to think about the future when times are tough. Instead, I try to focus on the goodness and wisdom of God and that He has a good plan for whatever I am experiencing. I can think about being with Jesus, both now and forever but other than that, the future is not my here-and-now hope, because life is never certain. I could spend the rest of my life in relative ease, or be a victim of riots and looters, or a painful accident or illness.

Yet in all those possibilities, my faith is learning that I can trust God. He knows the past, the present and the future all at the same time. What He says for my eternal well-being is as true now as it will be when it happens. Because of that, I can trust Him. I’ve not made a list, nor do I focus on earthbound hopes and dreams. I’ve thought how my life may have been different if that were so, yet I am not dissatisfied because of His calling to simply trust in His promises, do as He asks (even though I mess up often). I can set my sights on my heavenly home but choose instead to keep the will of God for this moment, this hour and day, before my face.

PRAY: Jesus, I’m amazed at the grace and blessing of contentment and at the thrill of experiencing You in all of life, accomplishing Your will and often doing it in such a way that it is a lovely surprise. Thank You.

PONDER: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)