One of my best friends wrote this and shared it on facebook. It really struck a chord in me and so I asked her if she would not mind me sharing it with you all on here. I am praying you are blessed by it as I was:
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
How many times have I heard it said: "God will not give you what you want until you are contented where you are." I've even given that advice on several occasions. But today, I had an amazing revelation about true contentment...at least it was for me. It was a simple thought that the Lord brought to mind that changed my perspective on this little nugget of advice that gets thrown around Christian circles so easily.
You see, I have heard people say this to people who are not where they want to be in life over and over again. It's just the right thing to say. Your friend comes to you and says that she's tired of being single and she wants to be in a relationship. "God won't give you what you want until you're content with where you are." A young wife wants to know why all her friends are having kids and she's not pregnant yet. "God won't give you what you want until you're contented with where you are." It's the answer to all our problems with our present and our future...we're just not content enough to make it to the next step.
Now don't get me wrong, we are supposed to be content with where the Lord has us in life. The Bible is very clear that contentment is a crucial part of the joy that can be found in the Christian walk. The problem I had was the reason behind being content.
I was sitting on the floor in my living room, thinking about how I wish some things in my life were going a little more according to the plan I had in my head. I was starting to feel a little discouraged when I grabbed a hold of my favorite response for times like this: "God won't give you what you want until you're contented with where you are." "That's just it," I thought. "A little bit more contentment and my life will get back on track." And right then, God broke into my little conversation I was having with myself and said something to the effect of... "Do you really think My relationship with you is that superficial? Do you really think that I'm sitting here waiting for you to look like a contented Christian... to tell all your friends that you're happy where you are, and you hope nothing ever changes? Do you really see this relationship as a game of 'How happy does she look where I put her?' Is that what you think contentment is?"
And that's when I realized that I had been looking at contentment all wrong. All this time, I had seen contentment as a means to an end, as a way to get where I thought I should be. Contentment wasn't a life attitude. It was an appearance I had to keep up to show God I was ready for my next life step. I mean, it's not like I was consciously thinking that I would fool God into my way of looking at life. I was just doing it because that was what contentment was. That was how it was supposed to be used. But what I didn't get was, contentment is not a tool. It's not the way to get to where I want to be. Contentment is a lifestyle. It's satisfaction with God's plan whether He gives you what you want or not. So I'm not working to fill up my contentment quota for the day. I'm praising God that I have this wonderful life that I have to serve Him with! It's not "Contentment now, results later." It's just contentment. Joy over the fact that Father loves me enough to give me what I have...no strings attached.
So maybe this isn't news to any of you. Maybe I'm the only one just now getting this. And if this lesson was just for me, then I'm very thankful for it! But I thought I'd share what God showed me, in case anyone else could get anything from it. Christians are a family that are meant to build each other up, so hopefully this was an encouragment to somebody.
In Christ,
Elisha Chase
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
How many times have I heard it said: "God will not give you what you want until you are contented where you are." I've even given that advice on several occasions. But today, I had an amazing revelation about true contentment...at least it was for me. It was a simple thought that the Lord brought to mind that changed my perspective on this little nugget of advice that gets thrown around Christian circles so easily.
You see, I have heard people say this to people who are not where they want to be in life over and over again. It's just the right thing to say. Your friend comes to you and says that she's tired of being single and she wants to be in a relationship. "God won't give you what you want until you're content with where you are." A young wife wants to know why all her friends are having kids and she's not pregnant yet. "God won't give you what you want until you're contented with where you are." It's the answer to all our problems with our present and our future...we're just not content enough to make it to the next step.
Now don't get me wrong, we are supposed to be content with where the Lord has us in life. The Bible is very clear that contentment is a crucial part of the joy that can be found in the Christian walk. The problem I had was the reason behind being content.
I was sitting on the floor in my living room, thinking about how I wish some things in my life were going a little more according to the plan I had in my head. I was starting to feel a little discouraged when I grabbed a hold of my favorite response for times like this: "God won't give you what you want until you're contented with where you are." "That's just it," I thought. "A little bit more contentment and my life will get back on track." And right then, God broke into my little conversation I was having with myself and said something to the effect of... "Do you really think My relationship with you is that superficial? Do you really think that I'm sitting here waiting for you to look like a contented Christian... to tell all your friends that you're happy where you are, and you hope nothing ever changes? Do you really see this relationship as a game of 'How happy does she look where I put her?' Is that what you think contentment is?"
And that's when I realized that I had been looking at contentment all wrong. All this time, I had seen contentment as a means to an end, as a way to get where I thought I should be. Contentment wasn't a life attitude. It was an appearance I had to keep up to show God I was ready for my next life step. I mean, it's not like I was consciously thinking that I would fool God into my way of looking at life. I was just doing it because that was what contentment was. That was how it was supposed to be used. But what I didn't get was, contentment is not a tool. It's not the way to get to where I want to be. Contentment is a lifestyle. It's satisfaction with God's plan whether He gives you what you want or not. So I'm not working to fill up my contentment quota for the day. I'm praising God that I have this wonderful life that I have to serve Him with! It's not "Contentment now, results later." It's just contentment. Joy over the fact that Father loves me enough to give me what I have...no strings attached.
So maybe this isn't news to any of you. Maybe I'm the only one just now getting this. And if this lesson was just for me, then I'm very thankful for it! But I thought I'd share what God showed me, in case anyone else could get anything from it. Christians are a family that are meant to build each other up, so hopefully this was an encouragment to somebody.
In Christ,
Elisha Chase
5 comments:
Katy, thank you for sharing this :) Would you pass on thanks to Elisha too? I'm so encouraged and blessed by hear the journeys other Godly women are on and the things they are learning... I appreciate that so much!
xx Rachael
That is right sista!!!!!
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I really appreciated this post - thanks for sharing it Katie! I sometimes fall into the same trap of thinking, "Now, if I can just learn to be content, I'll get what I want faster . . ." Ha! This is a good lesson, and I completely agree with her. I also think that being content doesn't necessarily mean that we don't desire anything to change, or we don't work to bring that change about - but while we work toward our goals, we just need to make the most of where the Lord has us int he moment, and learn to TRUST that the Lord has a plan for a future, and rest in that plan, even if it may not be what we necessarily want right now. Good thoughts!
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