I had the best morning at the Ladies' Fall Conference at our church yesterday.
Not only was it fun to get together with everyone and fellowship but our guest speaker was so great.
Emily Hartman spoke on contentment and what that's looked like in her life and what we should look for and do in our lives as well. She was phenomenal. I want to share with you all some of my notes that I took while she was talking.
I think if I really sit back and think about my life, I will see that I'm not truly content. I know I'm not. I knew that before today. I always want...something. Whether it's clothes, or more music, or more books, or a new house, a bigger house, new appliances, my personal list goes on and on and on. I literally have a list of all the things I (eventually) want for our house that's titled "The Never Ending House List"--I know, I'm ridiculous.
But, today really put things in to perspective for me. Jason and I recently talked about how we needed to be content with where we are and what we have so its been something that's been on my heart for a quite some time now. Today really validated that for me and helped to show me practical ways to be content--things that I know in my heart, but have been "fogged" by life here of late.
Emily started out by talking to us about Paul and how in 2 Corinthians 12 he asks The Lord THREE times to take his weakness away--this shows that he wrestled with this and it shows us that there is a process to growing in contentment. It also shows us that God's grace is sufficient enough, always. Even through the "thorns in our flesh".
We need constant pouring in of His truths to shape our hearts--this is how grace seeps in.
So what does contentment even look like?
We tend to wrap it around worldly things like our health, family, work, marriage--contentment is a state of satisfaction and happiness (and not happiness in the worldly sense of the word). But, our hearts are prone to wander and we are always looking for something else to make us satisfied and happy. We get in to this mind set of "if only..." and it often times consumes us. "If only I was skinnier, if only I was richer, if only we were happier, if only I was more successful..."
We need to make a conscious effort to "flag" these "if only" moments. We need to mark what happens when we do not feel content--when we feel ourselves starting to say: "if only" or begin to compare ourselves to others and their circumstances. Realize when you start to feel that and mark it down and then make a beeline back to Jesus to give you the true contentment that your wandering heart desires.
How do we learn contentment?
Paul, while in prison stated one of the most well know verses in the bible: "...for I have learned that in whatever situation, I ma 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."
It is Christ who strengthens me--it is Him who gives me strength to be content in all situations. Contentment is truly, all tied up in my heart being connected to Jesus.
It can even easily be about me--or become about me when it truly should be about God and how only He can bring me the true contentment that my heart desires.
The question becomes, do we want "contentment" (or what we see as contentment) or do we want Jesus, the only one who can bring about true contentment?
Psalm 90:14 states: "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days"
We were made for absolute dependence on Christ and we naturally stray away from that--but, we have these intense, deep rooted longings in our hearts to be perfectly satisfied and due to the fall of man, we feel unsatisfied and we constantly look for that dependence in someTHING rather than someONE, rather than The One. We find true contentment when we are resting in Christ alone.
We need to reorient our hearts towards Jesus--what does that look like?
It's constantly reminding ourselves of His promises. We live between the fall of man and redemption of God's people and until we reach redemption, it's going to be a battle, it's going to be a fight, it's going to be a war. We need to repent of the places where we go when we begin to think in terms of "if only"--when we feel like we're losing the battle. Ask for forgiveness and celebrate that God truly is enough for me and praise that He delights in me just the way that I am, that he doesn't see my faults and think less of me when I do struggle, when I do fight, when I go to battle within myself.
She gave this great illustration that our lives are like a fence.
The top of the fence is all of the content that we know--scripture, God's promises, sermons we've heard, biblical wisdom we have gained.
The bottom of the fence is every day life--raw, true, life.
The truth of the matter is, we feel a huge gap oftentimes from what we know (the top of the fence) and what we feel in our real lives (the bottom of the fence) and as believers, we must learn to actively connect the truths that we know, to every day life.
We oftentimes let our life experiences shape what we think about God rather than letting what we know about God shape our life experiences.
God oftentimes disrupts us, to change our lives--whether that looks like the wilderness, a war, deliverance, or redemption, He uses it. He uses those times to turn our hearts towards Him, solely and securely. He takes ashes in our lives and gives us great beauty. He will provide us contentment THROUGH Him and what He provides to us.
We must remember that we are not yet to restoration in this life, and we will never reach it until we are in Heaven, we are in the in-between of the fall and full redemption and that is much that happens...and He uses it all. We know and feel our failures so deeply and this is where we must come to Jesus. This is where He meets us--we can not attach our contentment to what others think of us, we must listen to the voice of Our Father who said to His Son: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased"--He rejoices over those who love Him and that must be at the forefront of our minds--that He is enough-He is for us-He is with us-He redeems us.
Psalm 84:11 says: "For The Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."
I am not blameless, but I am a child of God and through Him, I am blameless.
If it will be good for me, He will not withhold it from me and if He withholds it from me, then it must not be good for me--do I trust Him in that? Do I truly believe that?
We must rest in the one who got it right for us.
Healing and restoration are not instant--it may not even be in this lifetime for some of us. But, learning to wait is part of becoming truly content.
As Christians, we are a "waiting people" and we must learn to wait well.
When the object of our hearts is blocked, we have 2 choices, we can wail in the fact that our own efforts could not save us or bring us contentment or we can cry out to The Lord, reconnect to Christ and believe that He will give you the good things in and through Him.
Sometimes, waiting is the plan and it's there that we truly find contentment.
Both wailing and crying out to The Lord involve tears--am I wailing because I have to have this thing or am I crying out because I realize the longing I have is held in the hands of My Father and the He cares and He knows and it's there that we find our desires pointing us back to Jesus.
It is Christ love for the lost and the hurting people that let's the dark times change us. He experienced true, total darkness in MY place and He offers me so much more than I can find by lighting my own torch and looking inward to save myself. This loving, tender God is where we find love, security, and worth.
Amen and amen.
