Are you content in the grace of God?

Are you intimately acquainted with the grace of Christian contentment? Are you aware that all of your needs have been met, by a gracious, loving father? They have been, and you may mentally agree, but do you truly believe it? Do you have peace and a satisfaction in your soul that overflows from your mouth? Out of the fullness of your heart, is what comes out of your mouth.

Is discontentment being spoken? Are you complaining that what you have is not enough? Do you complain and gain sympathy from others that your relationships are not fulfilling, or that others disappoint you? That is discontentment. Like the horse leach that cries, "it is not enough." It is sowing seeds of discontent.

Never blame others for your spiritual state. No one else can make you happy or content. No one else is responsible to fill the voids that you may perceive in your own life. You must hold yourself accountable. God has already supplied all your need. He has equipped you and you lack nothing.

Self-pity is a deep pit. Compare yourself only to God's word, not another person. Make no mistake you will reap what you sow. If you continuously sow seeds of self-pity and discontent, you will reap the same. It just keeps getting deeper. The deeper into discontent that you allow yourself to go, the more difficult it will be for you to see your way out. It becomes your place of comfort and familiarity. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Speak HIS word to yourself and your circumstances. Let every word that proceeds out of your mouth speak truth. Our feelings deceive us. Do not be deceived. The word of GOD is TRUTH. Feelings fluctuate and constantly change. The scriptures tell us that "a person's ways seem right to themselves." (paraphrased by me)
" People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart." Prov 21:2 NLT

It is not really possible to have peace if you are discontent. I remember what it felt like to be discontent. Trying for years, to get pregnant, wanting so badly what others had. I had determined in childhood that I wanted a large family of children. Once I determined to follow the lord, it made even more sense. It was right in my own mind that I should have lots of children and that I would raise them up in the way of faith. Something within me "felt" incomplete, and I constantly confessed my want. I can't begin to count the tears I shed in discontentment.

If I had all the children I wanted to have, would I have fostered other people's children who were cast off and rejected? Would we have taken in a paralyzed brother in need? Would I have been open to go into the prisons and nursing homes visiting with those in need? I would have been so busy feeding my own family that perhaps I wouldn’t have been so willing to go visit the sick and shut in with homemade soup and bread. So many other examples come to mind. If I had my own way, would I have opened my home and my heart to the needs of others? The lord had a plan and a purpose, yet my heart wanted what I wanted. In retrospect I see how that had become an idol in my life and a seed of discontentment.

At some point, many years ago, the Holy Spirit revealed my selfishness to me. It pierced my heart. All along I thought I was loving God, and had accepted HIM into my life. I had, in a measure, but I hadn't completely accepted Him if I hadn't accepted all that He allowed in my life. If I was discontent, I hadn't truly accepted all His will for my life.

It was a turning point...which is repentance. I was sincerely sorry I had been so discontent. I asked His forgiveness, and turned from that self-pitying discontent, that in reality had been denying God’s goodness. He was faithful and just to forgive me.

The difference in my life has been evident to those who know me. I am free from discontent and self pity. There are circumstances that arise that would tempt me to, once again, return and wallow in those past issues, but I have determined in my heart that I love be free and I love the contentment. When the lord sets us free we are free indeed, however we still have the free will to return to what He sets us free from.

With all honesty there is not a single person I can look at with envy. There is no longer anything anyone has that I covet, other than to grow in the knowledge and grace of the lord Jesus Christ. THAT is available to ALL who pursue it, so there is no need to envy. My experience has proven that God's word is true, and that Matt 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" works. It works!!!! It works.

Thank God for His grace. It is sufficient, and my understanding of it becomes richer as I mature. I choose to walk in His path and be content with all that I have. I am blessed, so richly, by all that He has done for me, in me, and through me.

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Are you content in the grace of God?

Grayce Pedulla Dillon © 2010

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