Godly Contentment - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) August 23, 2024
It's hard to be content nowadays. Constant marketing encourages us to crave what's next and stay on trend. Upgrade your clothes. Upgrade your home. Upgrade your car. Upgrade your friends and even your spouse. Materialism is so out of control, that it has humanity barreling downhill like a rolling stone.
None of this was God's design. He wanted people to live in contentment. He wanted human beings to appreciate what He gave and lean on Him for whatever else they wanted, knowing He would not leave them without. This is why Psalm 23:1 announces "the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Sheep are well cared for. They are led to verdant pastures where they have their fill and are guided to still waters to drink and rest. Their Shepherd wrestles the bears and lions that seek to snatch them away, keeping His flock safe from attack.
Sadly, most do not understand the relationship between a Shepherd and His sheep. The idea of such contentment and security is foreign because eyes are blind, ears are deaf and minds are closed to the reality that it is God's job to satisfy us. This applies to non-believers and believers, who must also be weaned from that erroneous mindset. Thankfully, God is more than able.
He wants His own to step into godly contentment. Such contentment is wrapped in the assurance and knowledge that God is steering His children to what He has for them at His appointed time. It means that those who belong to the Lord know that the fat of the land shall be theirs as they continue walking with Him. They therefore do not despise their current state, knowing that it is merely a rung on the ladder to the more He has apportioned for them. Zechariah 4:10 - Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” (The seven lamps represent the eyes of the LORD that search all around the world.)
First Timothy 6:6 is real to those with godly contentment - But godliness with contentment is great gain. It turns them away from the path of complaining and grumbling, ushering them into praise and worship even in dire circumstances.
Further, it prevents God's children from bowing to the spirit of Mammon, which pushes others to seek wealth nonstop though and they never arrive at satisfaction. This endless quest for riches brings destruction into their lives and the lives of those around them. Hence, the Bible warns, "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction" (1 Timothy 6:9). Since God doesn't want this for His own, He builds them so He can usher them into the more when they are well-trained to withstand the temptations that will surely come.
We can never arrive at a point of godly contentment that blesses us and others till we are in a committed relationship with God. This requires a desire to know Him intimately and to grow in His word. Until God becomes enough, nothing will ever satisfy. For those in this category, personal and spiritual fulfillment will always evade them. Their lives will lack that one thing they desire. They don't realize that the one thing they need is the Lord Almighty. He alone is the source of true and lasting contentment. He wants everyone to experience godly contentment and the comfort and security that stem from it. He is willing to give and when you pray for it, you will not be denied if you are willing to receive.
Please join us at Noon EST when we shall give God glory and pray for other people before we ask to be filled with godly contentment. God bless you.
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