Excerpt from Storms of Life, Indigo: Contentment
sits the rich color, indigo.
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.”
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!”
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..
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!
how do we get from frustration to contentment?
grin and bear it?
blindly accept it?
no doubts, regardless?
doesn’t mention any of these. Read it again: through him [Jesus] who gives me strength.
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!
doesn’t depend on his circumstances to be content. That would be a mistake.
doesn’t depend on people around him. They’ll let him down.
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?
If this post blesses you, please share.
Next post: Purple – Sovereignty
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6 Comments
Hi, I am Sherry Carter. Nice to meet you!
The Conversation
Sherry, these color posts are really fascinating, and I'm enjoying them! Thanks for doing these.
I've been so busy the past couple days. Sorry it took me so long to respond.
I've enjoyed doing them so much. God's used them to bless me and I hope it has others.
I'm not sure what I'll do next. It's been great having a pattern to guide me each day.
Sherry,
God's been working on me with this contentment deal : )
He has been helping me to focus on all the good things each day instead of wondering when or how things will change. He is faithful!
Focus on the good things…great advice, Cynthia. And there are so many good things! Thanks for the comment.
Contentment isn't easy, but you're so right. God IS in control. Sometimes, I envision Him laughing because His plan is always so much better than ours. I have to remember that every time I get antsy. LOL!
I'm sure he laughs at me all the time! Thanks for being faithful to read and comment.