From the Heart of the Pastor: Contentment

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you" (I Pe. 5:6f.).

Humility enables you to see God even when your world is collapsing all around you. Contentment is not tied to wins and losses or to possessions and prosperity, but to expectations and desires. The bias of your heart is the determiner of your ability to allow your heart to rest in the knowledge of God's sovereignty.

Life in a fallen world grants you no exemption from what appears to be random senseless hurt. The anchor of your soul must be cast within the veil where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for you (Heb. 6:19f.). Christian contentment is the fruit of unbosoming your heart to God. Your desire is to gain a heart quieted by your awareness of God's lovingly providential hand.

Your culture is the expression of what you and those around you think and do. No culture is neutral; it demands obedience. Never be content to live where faith is fading. The goal of God's word is to nurture within your heart a culture of contentedness in Him.

The devil of discontent roams about on this earth; this world is his throne room (Job 1:7; Rev. 2:13). Discontentment is an entombing sin. You must stand with the Apostle Paul declaring, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (Phil. 3:7).

Though Job was doing battle unknowingly with the devil, we all have a far worse and more present enemy. Your most difficult and untiring enemy is your own flesh. Your fleshly nature battles your spirit.

Carnal minds are unwilling to wait for the Lord to gain new strength (Isa. 40:31). Saul impatiently took matters into his own hands when he refused to wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices to the Lord (I Sam. 13). When Saul wanted guidance concerning the battle with the Philistines, he relied upon the witch of Endor (I Sam. 28).

The Christian captures contentment when in the valley of the shadow of death he praises God for his very life. Job blessed his God because he knew that all he had lost had been the gift of God's hand. In his season of greatest affliction, he exercised the most sublime faith because he trusted in the God he loved rather than the universe that continues to mystify us all.

"For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His" (II Chron. 16:9).

Source: Being Transformed [info=beingtransformed.org@mcsv62.net]