Excerpt from Storms of Life, Indigo: Contentment

Sandwiched between the calm of blue and the sovereignty of violet, sits the rich color, indigo.

Trusting God's provision in the face of suffering: contentment.

Storms of Life Chapter 7, Day 3

 

"Being content in God’s will or in the situations He allows to occur means you have to let go of what you want, and submit to what He wants for you. It may not make sense; it may be painful. You must trust His love and draw on Jesus’ strength.

 Contentment is the peace that comes when we trust that God is in control of the events in our lives. When we understand that His sovereignty is steering our circumstances to complete His work in us and to prepare us for eternity, we can rest in the faithfulness of His love. To be content is not to be happy with the path we walk but to be secure in the knowledge His purposes are perfect."

Paul described this in Philippians 4:12-13 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.

 

Being content isn’t easy – in fact, sometimes it seems downright impossible. We don’t want to believe that pain is part of God’s plan. “A loving God would never allow this!”

The problem is that we can’t see past the end of our noses. Even if we could, we wouldn’t understand God’s purposes, anyway..

We’ve all heard the analogy that we can’t see the beautiful tapestry He’s weaving using the events of our lives. But when it hurts, I must confess, I don’t care about any tapestries! I care about today’s suffering!

So, how do we get from frustration to contentment?

Surrender: grin and bear it?

Faith: blindly accept it?

Trust: no doubts, regardless?

Paul doesn’t mention any of these. Read it again: through him [Jesus] who gives me strength.

Paul might not have the faith to see God’s purpose, but he doesn’t need to. He knows Jesus is with him to give him the strength he needs. Paul depends on Jesus!

He doesn’t depend on his circumstances to be content. That would be a mistake.

He doesn’t depend on people around him. They’ll let him down.

He depends on Jesus. Jesus never lets him down. He never lets us down.

 

Believe in the love and authority of your Father to be in control of every situation:
The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23

Try not to envy other's situations. That's a hard one for me. "Why doesn't so-and-so have to deal with this?"
Keep your lives free from the love of money [any blessing] and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Try not to demand that God fix it or provide what you think you need, right now!
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
   
 When has the Spirit enabled you to be content during difficult times?


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