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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Next post: Purple - Sovereignty

Excerpt from Storms of Life, Silver Lining: Hope

Excerpt from Storms of Life Chapter 6, Day 5:
"When we focus on God’s truths they lift our spirits; He is the Father of peace, not doubt and confusion. Even during suffering, an underlying bedrock of peace and joy will allow you to feel hope. God’s Word is Truth: timeless, changeless, a Light for your heart and soul when all else is in darkness.
Truth is not a whim that blows in the wind. ... It stands on the Rock of God’s character and is expressed in every promise spoken by His faithfulness. God is the Father of peace, joy, strength, wisdom, hope, and so much more. Focus on Him! Let His Word become your Bread of Life and your Living Water to sustain you in the wilderness of suffering."




The sound of rain, flashes of lightening, rolls of thunder— I love a storm. I like to snuggle up with a hot cup of tea and a good book.

But, no amount of hot tea and no shelf of bestsellers can lessen a storm of suffering or hardship that invades our lives and threatens our stability.

The days stretch by and things just seem to get worse.

Where’s God? Has He forgotten us? Worse yet, has He abandoned us? It sure feels like it sometimes. We’re desperate for His love and grace.

Even though we don’t see it or feel it, God is there, upholding us with His grace.

In the next few posts, we'll rejoice in the 8 colors of God’s grace that surround us during our hardest times.

“Every cloud has a silver lining.”
“There’s a blessing hidden is this storm, if you just look for it.”


These statements are hard to believe when all we can see is dark, swirling clouds.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11: 1

Hope…this word doesn’t mean
                    "I wish," or
                    "I want it to happen but I’m not sure."


It means complete confidence, certainty, unfailing.

In Christ, our hope is complete confidence in Him and His unfailing promises.

Even from the midst of the storm, we have hope (total confidence) in the silver lining.

Hope in His presence.
Hope in His faithfulness.
Hope in His sustaining power.


All the colors of God's grace are built on this hope.

When you've been buffeted by a storm, how have you built your stability on the hope of (confidence in) God's faithfulness?


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Next post: Red - God's Passion and Power