God Delights In Giving Us Good Things
Discontentment has a habit of sneaking up on me.
It lets itself in through the back door and settles right in. It enters my mind in different ways. Sometimes, it slips in when I’m shopping and am checking off and on throughout the week to see if a sale popped up. Other times, it comes when a friend is telling me about a wonderful thing that is going on in their life that I hope for also. Recently, it slipped in when my mom asked me what I would be excited to get for Christmas.
Discontentment finds us in different ways and offers the lie that we don’t have enough… just not quite what we need. So, we desire far more than we need, and we strive to build our nests. All too often, I forget that what really is underneath my desires is a spiritual need that can only be filled by spending time with God Himself.
The Bible tells us something incredible through Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:6
“But godliness with contentment is great gain”.
When we are living our lives in accordance with what Jesus teaches, in godliness, and when we are content in our Father, we strengthen our faith and stand on solid ground.
Of course possessions are not bad, it’s fun to desire and get new things, but it’s harmful when our hearts make possessions something more than they ought to be. To be content, like Paul teaches, it means cultivating a frame of mind that is dependent on God’s provision alone.
Whatever our lives look like, we have a generous Father who delights in giving us good things. He doesn’t withhold what we need. Through His love for Paul, He taught him contentment in much and in little. (Philippians 4:11) Meaning, regardless of our possessions and life circumstances, joy and delight are available! If we can’t find these precious gifts, we are looking in the wrong places. But He will teach us this, too.
Offer your disordered desires to Jesus through prayer and ask Him to transform your perspective and your mind. He will show you what matters to Him, and where His everlasting joy can be found.
Contentment says, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6).
May our hearts say this, too.
