Today I want to talk about being content. I believe that contentment is one of the greatest blessings in life, and I am amazed at how many people think differently. My life isn't perfect, and by the end of 2015 I struggled with major discontentment. I wasn't enough, my friends weren't enough, my family wasn't enough, God wasn't enough. I was in a self-imposed state of misery. 2016 came and, at first, nothing was different. Day 1: Discontent. Day 2: Discontent. But as I finished going through my blessings jar (You can see my post about that here: http://aditlohp.blogspot.com/2015/02/my-cup-overfloweth.html ) something began to change in me. I wrote 34 pages of notes on each person, place, thing, or whatever else was in that blessings jar, and I was in awe that in a year that had seemed so terribly difficult, I was blessed in such abundance! That wasn't the end of my discontentment though. Many days following were full of feelings of helplessness and loneliness. One day I could bear it no longer, and late at night I sat down and began to cry, pleading with God to do something, to help me. Slowly, my prayer changed from one of begging Him to take away my sorrows, to asking Him to change my heart. I suppose it must have happened somewhat slowly, because it wasn't until just this evening, as I was thinking about a few things that need done, that I realized I wasn't panicky. I wasn't afraid, or lonely, or angry, or miserable, I was content. I am content. Even though not a single circumstance has changed, I feel so... free. There are many forms that discontentment can take. You can be discontent with your money or belongings (or lack of the money or belongings you want)
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" ~Hebrews 13:5 You can be discontent with your circumstances
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" ~Matthew 6:25-26 There are many other things you may be discontent with, but the Bible says
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." ~Philippians 4:12-13
Next time you're feeling discontent, think about all the ways in which you are blessed, and thank God for them, and then ask Him to turn your heart, and train your mind to be content with your money, your circumstances, your relationships, and your life. To be content is to let go of the chains that bind you.
~Katie Stone~
