Contentment seems slick. Just when it seems to be settling into place, LIFE happens and suddenly contentment slips away.
The following excerpt from New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp resonates with me and the struggle for contentment. Maybe you can relate?
Sin does two very significant things to us all. First, it causes us all to insert ourselves into the center of our worlds, making LIFE ALL ABOUT US.
In our self-focus, we are all too motivated by
our wants,
our needs, and
our feelings, and
because we are, we tend to be MORE AWARE OF WHAT WE DON’T HAVE
than of the many wonderful blessings that we have been given.
But there’s more; because we are self-focused,
we tend to be SCOREKEEPERS, constantly comparing our plies of stuff to the piles of others.
It’s a life of discontentment and envy. Envy is always selfish.
There is a second thing of equal significance that sin does to us. It causes us to look HORIZONTALLY FOR WHAT CAN ONLY EVER BE FOUND VERTICALLY. So we look to creation for:
Life
Hope
Peace
Rest
Contentment
Identity
Meaning
Purpose
Inner peace
And motivation to continue.
The problem is that NOTHING in creation can give you these things.
Creation was NEVER designed to satisfy your heart.
Creation was made to be one big finger pointing you to the ONE who alone has the ability to SATISFY YOUR HEART.
Many people will get up today and, in some way, will ask creation to be their savior, that is, to give them what only God is able to give.
“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Ps. 73:25-26).
These are the words of a man who learned THE SECRET TO CONTENTMENT.
When you are SATISFIED with the GIVER, because you have found in him the life you were looking for, you are freed from the ravenous quest for satisfaction that is the discouraging existence of so many people. Yes, it is true that your heart will rest only ever when it has found its REST IN HIM.
Here is one of the most beautiful fruits of grace—a heart that is content,
More given to WORSHIP than DEMAND and
More given to the JOY OF GRATITUDE than the ANXIETY OF WANT.
It is grace and grace alone that can make this kind of PEACEFUL LIVING POSSIBLE for each of us. Won’t you reach out today for that grace?