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Seed of Discontent
I have found in my life that it is far easier for a seed of discontent to be planted, watered and grown (I may not have a green thumb with plants, but I have a fully developed one in this area!), …than it is to be content with my lot, content in my life…trusting in Him in spite of the circumstances I might not care for. I find I have to work much harder to keep that seed of discontent out of my life. It tends to slip in through any crack I might leave unattended.
Quite honestly, I am preparing for my son to graduate from high school and begin his next exciting stage in life. Even though we ultimately raise our children to hopefully go out to be independent and fully functioning adults, I did not expect my circumstances to be remotely close to what they are as I prepare for the empty nest stage. It leaves me with a huge sense of panic I have a hard time dealing with, far too often. These circumstances lead me at times towards a major amount of discontent, when I let down my guard. The bottom line…this is where I am at. It is irrelevant whether the whole scenario fits my dreams and hopes when growing up. I don’t need to dwell on what is different than what I had hoped for . However, at times I admit I jump into that pit, fully immerse myself in it, roll around, do the back stroke and make sure it seeps into every crack…I play all of the what if’s and what might have been. The wallowing just makes me more miserable, and when I surface from it, the reality hasn’t changed. The sovereignty of my Heavenly Father hasn’t changed either. I have to make a choice. Dwell on what is not, or seek Him to find out how He wants me to live in the midst of what is. HIS purpose in it all, not mine!
I’m sure some aspect of this coming life change will be a frequent blog topic in the coming months.:) That ‘moment’ down the road when he goes on to his next stage in life seems far too big and painful for me to face and handle. However, the key is I don’t need to be able to handle it today. He will give me the grace I need at the time I need it…just like He’s done for me in the past. I have to choose to trust in that. I have to choose to know He also has a purpose for my life…to trust in His promises and His faithfulness He has shown me time and time again. My eyes MUST be on Him, not on me and my situation…any difficult situation that is being faced…or I can’t thrive. I especially can’t seek to actively live in the freedom of his love for me, trusting in Him. If I allow myself to get caught in the trap of looking around, comparing, grieving, I will miss out on so much.. Instead, I must press on to the goal He has set before me. THAT is what really matters in it all… that my focus is on Him and that I keep myself under His authority and seek to honor and glorify Him in the midst of whatever crosses my path. Sounds great, but living it can be oh so much harder, at least it is for me…far too often. Eyes on Him, not on me or those around me…or my battle for contentment is futile.
Truths from His Word:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13
II Corinthians 12:10: For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Yikes!! These verses may not always be easy to live out, but oh they are so worth it. To be content WITH weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions AND calamities! I could spend the rest of my life just focusing on trying to live out these verses! I want to radiate joy for Him, in the midst of these challenges! Now that I have written this out, and shared it with you..you can hold me to it!
We need to encourage and uplift each other, to help each other walk successfully down the unique path the Lord has carved out for each of us. To rejoice in His unique plans for our lives. Let’s not worry if our paths always look the same, as long as we’re walking in obedience to the truths in His Word. Hopefully we can do that for each other.I know I need all the help I can get! Please always feel free to share any prayer requests…on here or to email me directly. This journey is hard enough at times. It is easy to get caught up in things that can distract or cause dissension between believers. Instead, we can walk along side each other shining for Him. If we’re children of the King, we can be united in that.
A long time ago I read a special story about the individual path we are each called to walk. We can stray off of that path, getting lost along the way. Or, we can walk confidently with Him on that path. When we stay on it, we run across special treasures that He has in store for us. When we get off the path, we might miss out on a special gift He has just for us. I couldn’t find a copy of this story, but if anyone has it, I would love it if you could leave it, or a link to it, in the comment section for this blog entry.
The verses below help to sustain me, to give me hope, not in my circumstances, but in the Lord! I pray they do so for you as well. May we all fight together to rid ourselves of discontent, to instead find joy and contentment in our daily walks! How humbling that He loves His children enough to carve out a unique path for each of us so we can use that path to glorify and honor Him..May we learn to choose to be content in where the Lord has called us to walk. May we trust that He will provide the needed grace each and every day.
2 Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
I Timothy 6:6: But godliness with contentment is great gain
Be all that you can be!
Dream Big. Be All That You Can Be. We’re inundated with constant challenges to pursue big dreams, to believe nothing can hold us back from accomplishing whatever our mind is set on. (Emphasis on what OUR mind is set on.) If the desire is in our heart, then we must be able to reach our goal, to satisfy that desire, right?
I googled motivational phrases and these were a few I ran across:
“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”–Norman Vincent Peale
“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.”–William Arthur Ward
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.” -Confucius
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”-Walt Disney
Great ‘cheerleading’ phrases, but they miss the essential point. I think it is so easy to get ahead of ourselves when facing all of this propaganda. We frequently hear how the Lord will give us the desires of our heart. Give us our dreams! Almost as if He owes us! I find when I get caught up in that, my focus is on my dreams, on what I want. At that point I’m not looking to the Lord to show me His plan for me. I’m looking to Him to put His stamp of approval on what I want. I’ve already decided what I ‘need’ for Him to make happen.. I just need Him to do his part. Not only is that extremely arrogant on my part…to think that I can come up with a better plan for my life than He can…but this thinking makes Him more of a genie, than my Lord and Savior! These quotes tend to put all of the responsibility and focus on ourselves and our own strength, not the Lord’s.
So what about those desires of our heart that he promises to fulfill in Proverbs 37:4?
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
I think we forget the first part of the verse. Delight yourself in the Lord, AND (then) He will give you the desires of your heart. If I am truly delighting in Him and pursuing Him in all my ways, might that mean that my desires will ultimately be different than what I think I need? When my heart is right with Him, my desire is to ultimately please Him and live for Him. His desires become my desires. As that hymn says….
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Lord, may I completely and freely delight in You, in all areas of my life, and may my desires be Your desires..
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
A New Year…Grace
Although I have disappeared on here for quite a long time, recently I feel more and more led that it is time to pick up my blogging pen again. Life holds many unknowns right now, but the one constant that is ALWAYS known, is the Great I AM. Nothing in my past, present, or future, takes Him by surprise. I find comfort in that. I find hope in that Truth. I may not always feel warm fuzzy emotions about life’s circumstances, but thankfully He doesn’t rely on that. He is faithful, and His faithfulness is not dependent on my feelings. I can rest in the fact that He is there and has a purpose for me. He loves me more than I can fathom and is not capable of allowing things in my life, or allowing me to make choices, that are not ultimately for my good and for His Glory!
I think I have shared a long time ago that each year I pray about what word He wants me to focus on that year. He has used these words to grow me and challenge me in ways I couldn’t have foreseen. The lessons haven’t always been easy, but they have been good and worth it. In the past one word has been transparency. Focus on this word ultimately helped strip away the many masks we tend to wear. Although painful at the time, the emphasis on transparency loosened strongholds of shame, pride and much more.
My word this year is Grace. I look forward to learning more about it, how I can extend grace to others and to better grasp the grace that He has so fully extended to me, and freely offers others. I want to live freely in that grace! I’ve been reading some John Piper daily devotions on my phone, and the very first day in January dealt with grace. I love to see how He teaches me about it, and shows it to me, everywhere I turn. I’ll be sure to share those moments on here, both for you, and for me. I find that it helps me to have those moments written down to encourage me when I need it…to see firsthand His faithfulness in sharing his Truths just when I need them. As I said in the beginning, He is the ONLY constant that we can count on…and wow, could it get any better than having the Creator of the Universe being the One constant in our lives!
Below is an excerpt I read that explains grace. I hope this helps you too:
Grace means to get something that you do not deserve; unmerited favor. Mercy means you do not get a punishment that you deserve; compassion, forbearance. God is abundant in grace and mercy and we can read about it in the Bible. His greatest act of grace is the gift of salvation that is available for all people through faith. (Eph 2:8-9).
Grace…I can’t wait to see how He graciously teaches me about grace. I pray I get out of the way and allow Him to teach me and mold me!
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Jill's Joyful Noise 
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