"Contentment is not found in obtaining our desires, although God may sometimes grant them to us if they are not harmful. Rather it is found in finding God in the midst of our unmet desires and in the end discovering that he is all we trule need (Matt. 6:25-33)."
Matthew 6:25-33 ESV
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
How hard it is to lay aside our own answers and solutions and to wait upon His! The flesh is strong when we are in distress and contentment seems so far from us.
The occassional Christian who runs to God when they have run out of themselves will find times of trial and discontent harder to bear than that believer whose habit it is to go before the Lord regularly seeking His will and the mortification of the fleshly, abiding sinful desires.
I have come to think that we are to see our lives as a moment by moment battle not just an occassional skirmish with the world the flesh and the devil. To see our lives as having but an occassional struggle is to see our lives as needing God only occassionally. This leads to spiritual weakness and desperation in tiimes of great confrontation.
There are "musts" in the Christian walk. Prayer, worship, stewardship to name a few. They are not intended to gain us favor with God but to keep us close to Him to facilitate our growth and usefulness. They also prepare us for those times of trouble and discontent that we must know we will face in this life. When we fail in these Christian duties we are simply setting ourselves up for pain and agony.
Is he all you truly need? Can you accept that and settle your soul? Are you seeking to discover that through faithfully engaging with Him? Are you seeking His kingdom, His kingship and all the mercies that come with them?
Or, are you simply getting through life as best you can under your own power and effort?
Contentment is wonderful but without godliness it is an empty shell, a fractured pillar, a damaged foundation.
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