Contentment begins with thankfulness

Life’s experiences can become life’s habits. My adult children speak of an inner desire that wants to move to another place — something they grew up doing. I’ve moved more than thirty times and this same urge hits me now and then. Usually I solve it by moving furniture or purging unused stuff so that my space seems like a new space.

However, what to do when that inner desire persists? When moving is not practical and yet the yen for it remains, almost creating a sorrow of discontent? To that question, God gives a simple answer. It started with a small story of a man who stood on a high peak in the mountains watching a storm below him. Then an eagle soared up through the clouds towards the sun. The rain’s  water glistened on its wings in the sunlight. The man realized that if the storm had not raged, that eagle would have remained in the valley and he would miss seeing the beauty of its escape into the heights. He also thought how the sorrows of life cause us to rise towards God.

After years of not moving, I must have thought that I had given up the yen to move, yet it hit this past few weeks, but been thwarted over and over. My space needs no changes except to declutter, but that is not helping remove the habit of a life of constant change. Even though the song says, “He will break every fetter,” I feel a slave to this restlessness. Yet God’s Word warns me that yielding to Jesus will break every form of slavery.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:16)

It also tells me again that I have died to sin and must live for Jesus, not my desires, but His:

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

The only use of the cross in Scripture is about being put to death, not to keep alive. When Jesus told His disciples that they could not be His disciples unless they took up the cross, He could not have meant that they were to find it hard to do His will. He was expressing that they must be made partakers of His death and resurrection as the old nature was crucified with Him. They must now live  in the resurrection life of the Holy Spirit.

I do not crucify self by accepting my lot in life and being miserable with it. A painful self-sacrifice is not “taking up the cross” but is instead counting the stuff of the flesh and my old nature as utterly worthless and fit only for death.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (Romans 6:6)

Then the Bible gives me this:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. (Philippians 4:11)

But godliness with contentment is great gain, (1 Timothy 6:6)

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (1 Timothy 6:8)

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Being content is what God wants from me. He may offer a move, but not because of my desire. It has to be His will. If that never happens, I must be content with whatever He does.

PRAY: Lord, my time with You this morning was interrupted with a phone call. After a stressful day,  I am so thankful that my hubby was not seriously hurt when hitting some ice and taking a hard fall. Prayer time with others also was a blessing because we recognized Your presence and care for us. I slept a long time this afternoon, another thank You. All of this makes full yielding to Your will much easier. The cross is not always heavy — because You are with me and help me deny my I-wants and instead be content and thankful.