Wednesday Words of Encouragement

-
I Corinthians 7:17,24. ~

"Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him...Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to."

If only my children acted like Sue’s children, then I could be patient.  If my husband was like Jane’s then my marriage would be great!  If I had a job that paid more then I could be relaxed like Jennifer.  If my situation would change, then I would be able to trust God.

Do you fall into this trap at times?  Do you wish things were different in your life?   Do you think that if your situation were different, then you would be different?  Are there days when you want to give up?  Are you in a situation that you wish would change?  

I think we all experience this from time to time.  Yet, the Lord wants us to be content with the circumstances and situations that He has allowed in our lives.  He wants us to rely on Him no matter what is happening.  He wants us to live for Him no matter what our husband, children, job, financial situation, or other situation is like.

Contentment is a choice.  When I choose to be dissatisfied and upset about my life circumstances, I have a tremendous amount of stress.  That stress then just continues the cycle of depression, anger, resentment, and sinfulness.  When I deliberately choose to be content, I feel at peace. 

Contentment comes from trusting God.  God has things in control.  He has a plan for your life.  He is working all things out for your good.  When I choose contentment, I am saying that I trust God.  I’m putting my life in His hands and letting Him do what He wills.  I am not trusting in God if I believe that things have to be going well first.  Trust happens by following Him when I can’t see the end result.   Trust is following Him in the darkness and when things look hopeless.

As you go through your week, remember to thank the Lord for your circumstances. Instead of looking at them with discontent, praise God for allowing you to grow through them.  Take it one minute at a time and one hour at a time and one day at a time.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2014 at 11:27 AM

    Oh so timely! Thank you so much for your wise words, Terri! Mind if I print this off for my journal? xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. EnidSeptember 17, 2014 at 11:30 AM

    Oh, how I needed this reminder this morning....thank you....

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2014 at 10:48 AM

    What a great reminder. "Contentment" is MY choice. It sure helps my day go better when I remember these kind of things.

    Debbi

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2014 at 11:05 AM

    I am back. I just read my "Jesus Calling" devotional and found a similar writing in it. It talks about having "a mind-set that will protect me you from scattering you energy to the winds". It reminds me that every day I am faced with choices but I need to keep Him as my focal point. "You inhabit a fallen, disjointed world, where things are constantly unraveling around the edges. Only a vibrant realtionship with Me cam keep you from coming unravled too." (Qoute from the devotional) This is one of those morning where God is really speaking to me in several different ways. I think I will put your post in my journal too. Thanks.

    Debbi

    ReplyDelete
  5. ShannonOctober 2, 2014 at 10:54 AM

    I popped over from a link on quiethome (Tina) - thanks for these thoughts. A very good reminder!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love your comments and encouragement! I can't always respond back but do read each comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Oh What to Do; I'm Sixty-Two!

-
Image
Today is my sixty-second birthday and it's hard to believe I've achieved that....um....seasoned age! My first thought this morning was one of not being sure that I like it. However,  as I thought I about it, I decided to take joy in the fact that I've reached an older age. Because age comes with benefits. Benefit #1 - I'm a bit wiser.   When I look back at some of the decisions I made when I was younger, I cringe. With age has come the ability to slow down and think things through before I make major upheavals in my life. I've also discovered that getting worked up about certain things is just an absolute waste of emotional energy. Benefit #2 - I'm enjoying my life.   As I've aged I've learned all kinds of skills and hobbies and can honestly say that I'm never, ever bored. I love all the different things I'm able to do and it's fun! Benefit #3 - I've learned to appreciate my relationships. With age I've learned to work on developing a...
Read more

Eating to Live

-
Image
  Despite the unexpected busyness and interruptions, I have been plugging away at my weight loss as well as writing the plant-based, whole food cookbook. Recipe testing fell by the wayside the past two weeks, but I've still gotten a good chunk of the book done. I also got on the scale this morning for another one pound loss which makes a total of 61 lbs. since I started this journey back in July. It's second nature at this point and I have so much more energy and feel healthy. The only negative is that because I've lost so much weight I'm seeing some sagging, crepe-papery skin happening. Yuck. Some of that is age and I need to figure out some toning exercises. It's definitely a life-style change, but a positive one which I'm so thankful I started on. The pictures above are a small selection of meals I've eaten the past two months and many of those will be included in the book.  This will be a printable e-book as I find that will be the easiest and most cost ...
Read more

When the Unexpected Pops Up

-
Image
On Thursday afternoon, just as Dan and I were getting ready to leave for a meeting, we received a phone call from our son. He was sitting on the side of the road with a blown engine in his car. The problem is he lives 3 1/2 hours away. After back and forth phone calls he called a tow truck and got it towed to a garage. He ended up renting a car and headed here for the holiday. We've been working with him to figure out his next steps because he still owes thousands of dollars on the car which will also take a significant amount to replace the engine. His rent is going up in the new year. His seasonal job ended and he is trying to find something else, but needs a car for that to happen. His car still has not been looked at by the mechanic. It is all more than a little overwhelming. Long story short, we extended an invitation for him to live here temporarily so he can get out from under all of this. It would save him money on expensive rent and utilities.  The timing was right since h...
Read more