Contentment

Hey! Are you content in this life? Yes? No? Maybe? If not, why not? I know, I know…don’t get you started. To quote Shakespeare, you don’t have a ‘winter of discontent’, you have all seasons of discontentment! No reason to be filled with joy and happiness. You feel your circumstances and situation in life is always going to be this way and God won’t come through for you and…oh boy, I’ve got you started now.

The car. The money. The house. The kids. The spouse. The job. The church. The so-called friends. And what is that SMELL?

You’re right, you’re right…there’s not too many reasons to be content. And no, I’m not trying to be Little Mr Sunshine blowing happiness up your…uh, well, I’ll just say I’m not trying to make light of your circumstances. I have my downtimes too.

Living the freelance life, my income is greatly dependent on the ring of the telephone, and when it doesn’t ring for a few days (or hours), I can start getting antsy, nervous, scared…insert negative emotional state here. I start worrying about the income that ain’t! Paying the bills that are! I get angry that other people I know, not near as spiritual or as close to God as I am (!), aren’t having the hardships or money issues or car problems or future worries that I’m having. Why, God, do you allow others who don’t give a whiff about you to (seemingly) not have the same or worse problems that I’m having, and instead bless me because of my great actions and devotion to and for you?
(In case you were wondering, there was no lightning bolts OR claps of thunder when I wrote that. God knows my heart and mind…I didn’t have to write out what I’m thinking in order for Him to know about it!)

Why are we not ‘content’ in this life? Could it be we people watch WAY TOO MUCH? We’re looking at what others have, who they’re married to or the wonderful children they have, or the great paying job(s) they have, or the way everything they touch seems to turn to gold. Do we think because we’re Christians, God is going to continually bless us with things or good times or non-hurtful situations or friends? My apologies to Lynn Anderson who recorded it in the 70’s, but God said it first...

”I never promised you a rose garden!” David, Jesus, Paul and others talked WAY too many times about ‘When persecution comes…etc, etc.’ It’s gonna happen people! Either from others or by our own hand. On purpose or by accident. Persecution, hopelessness, despair…DISCONTENTMENT will happen!

Paul said in Philippians 4:11 ‘…I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.’
Here’s where I try to stand as much as possible. God has blessed my life greatly, more than I deserve. I’ve got a wife I love, kids I love who SAY they love me (I’m sure they do), friends who like to hang out with me, friends I can hang with as well, a roof over my head, food on the table…but even more than that, the knowledge that THIS ISN’T ALL THERE IS! This life is only temporary, there’s a far better life for me, and all of us who are Christians!

Again, Paul says in Romans 8:18 ‘I consider the sufferings of this present time are not WORTHY to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.’

I CLING to that! I have to! If I let the circumstances or situations or emotions (that’s a big one!) of this world get to me, my contentment level can’t be found. I HAVE to remember, we all do, that we aren’t here to enjoy things or people or events or status or whatever the world has to offer.
Romans 5:3-5 says ‘…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.’

HOPE! We have hope! Not only for spiritual success in this life (note I didn’t say physical or emotional, though that does happen every now and then), but for ETERNAL life after we shuffle off this mortal coil!

The life Jesus led! The FACT of His resurrection from the dead! The Holy Spirit that lives in us! ALL these things and more give us hope for our lives and the life to come!

Jesus didn’t just come to show us how to live a fine life here. How to always have wonderful things or happy families or be recognized for the all the great accomplishments we can do in this world. If that’s all He came for, well, 1 Corinthians 15:19 says ‘If we (Christians) have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.’ ANYONE can be so focused on this life that they live it very well (by their standards). But what happens when they die?

Hey! Be content! If Paul can say that in prison (which I’m sure was far worse than any prison we have in America right now), you can be content with the house you have, or the car you’re driving, or the spouse you have, or the job you drag yourself to everyday. God has great and wonderful things to show us in heaven! Things we’ll get to do, and see, have fun with, and be happy in…be CONTENT with!

Be content! Have hope! Peace out!

Laughing and enjoying the journey, Mark

Read the Book!

As I was sitting here doing some work on the computer last night, my oldest son, Reese, was watching TV behind me. Every now and then I had to get up and get something and when I came back, I'd look at him and say, 'You ok?' He'd grunt a 'yeah', or maybe a 'mm' in his best caveman imitation. I chalked it up to being bored and 16, or tired, and went on with my computer life. Now, granted, he'd been somewhat 'awake' the previous 48-72 hours. We just had our 'D-Now' weekend (Discipleship Now, for those not in on church lingo!), and he and about 30 other mid to high-schoolers had spent a lot of time together at the meeting place and at host homes. Learning more about God can really tire you out. (So can staying up till 2 or 3 in the morning and having to get up at 8, but surely THAT wasn't an issue!) He had also spent two nights with a good friend and had to get up early the second morning in order to be brought home. So knowing all of THAT didn't make me too concerned about his attitude or demeanor.THEN his phone rang. I had an idea who it was and by the tone of his voice when he said a playful 'Hellooooo', I could tell I was right. The girl! His woman! His precious flower! The light of his life! Madeline was calling! Where there were weeds there were now dandelions! Where there was gray skies there was now the most wonderful blue! He had traded ashes for beauty, sorrow for joy! He had a reason for living! The most important person in this world was now available for him to talk to, spend (phone) time with! Just hearing her voice had raised his spirits exponentially......which reminded me of something...that EXACT thing happens to me many times. I'm depressed about work, or money, or my parenting, or my spousing (just coined that...use it with my blessings!), or my car, or I'm just down on myself for past failures, or...well, you get the picture. And from conversations I've had with a few of you I know I'm not alone! You're feeling really down for whatever reason. Nothing will ever be right again and surely this is how the WHOLE rest of your life will be!Here's something else I was reminded of...God 'calls' us as well! When we hear from Him it's like the sun has broken out of the clouds and an incredible warmth and pleasant feeling has overtaken our being! We are smiling again! We are happy again! We, like my son, have a reason for living!But God is always there to call us or be called. Unlike Madeline who couldn't talk till she got off work, God can talk to us at anytime. And we get instant gratification just by opening the Book!The bible says in Jeremiah 15:16 'Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart!' and Psalm 119:105 'Thy word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path'!Promises galore! Confidence restored! Spirits will soar! It won't be a bore (Ok, I'm stopping, I'm stopping!).People! Read the word! Get excited and happy again! MARK! Read the bible! Get excited and happy again! (Don't for a SECOND think I'm not talking to myself when I write these little bits! I need this too!) (No extra comment from Noelle about the 'talking to myself' part, please!)God loves us! He's always there for us! Just open the book! Laughing and enjoying the journey,Mark