This entry is a guest post
from my dear friend Christina Arteaga. She is a wife, a mom, a creative (in
every sense of the word) and someone who is unashamedly after the Lord’s heart.
It’s my pleasure to share this post with you! You can read more of her stuff on her
blog.
* * * * * * *
Nobody likes to hear the “C” word.
Every time it gets brought up in a discussion,
especially one where advice is being issued, it’s like a knife in our ears and
a punch to our hearts. How can people even say that word so easily? It carries
such a stigma.
I roll my eyes every time it’s said, especially
in church. If only we could do away with that terrible, wretched word:
CONTENTMENT.
Yes, that horrible word “contentment.” Just like
“hedge of protection” and “your will be done,” it is an overused statement
that’s usually said haphazardly, just to sound a bit more “Christian.”
Every time I was told to “just be content,” it
was a quick answer to a question I had about struggling. I wasn’t really
instructed on how to be content, I was just told to be it. I grew
to hate that phrase so much, I never told people “just be content.”
And yet, I’ve learned that contentment is the
key.
If you’re struggling today, let me instruct you
on tangible ways to be content.
I feel Andy Mineo said it best in his song
“Curious” off of his “Heroes for Sale” album. In it, he says “The secret is to
learn what it means to be content and celebrate what God’s given [and] not the
things He didn’t.” This seems like a pretty elementary idea, but putting it
into practice can be a bit harder than it seems.
1. CELEBRATE WHAT GOD’S
GIVEN
This can be explained in two parts: (a) Praise
God for the things He’s already given you and (b) celebrate those things, but don’t worship them.
Praise God for what you’ve already received.
It’s always easy to have a “grass is always greener on the other side”
mentality, but what we don’t realize it there are people looking into our own
lives thinking “I wish I had ________ like they do”.
I’m married. I know plenty of single people
looking for their future spouse. I have a daughter. There are people trying to have kids and
devastated that they can’t. I have a roof over my head, a vehicle to drive to
work, a job to pay my bills, a pretty decent phone…the list goes on and on.
Instead of focusing on what
God has yet to give you, praise Him for the things He has already gifted you
with. And in that, don’t worship the gift. A good
thing can quickly become an idol when you make that thing your source of
happiness instead of Jesus.
Everything fails you. A perfect husband could
forget your anniversary. The greatest car could have a flat tire. When we put
so much on a human or an item, our joy is shattered when the inevitable happens
and it fails us. Contentment means being grateful for the gift, but placing
your joy in the GIVER and never moving it from there.
2. DON’T OBSESS OVER
SOMETHING YOU DON’T HAVE
Remember when I mentioned that a perfect husband
could forget your anniversary and the greatest car could have a flat tire? The
truth is there is no such thing as a “perfect” husband or a “greatest” car
because “perfect” and “greatest” are subjective. To me, the “greatest” car is
one that saves me gas money. To someone else, it might be a red car
(personally, I prefer black cars).
My husband really loves sports. I like that
about him. Maybe to another woman, that would be a turn-off. When we go on a
search for the perfect _______ or the greatest ______, we go on a never-ending
search because, at the end of the day, we must realize that it simply doesn’t
exist.
The plain truth is that our focus shouldn’t be
on what God didn’t give us. Theodore Roosevelt once said “Comparison is the thief of all
joy” and he is correct. When your focus is on what you don’t have, you are
inevitably comparing what you do have to what others have, which leads to
feelings of envy, greed, jealousy, anger, bitterness and more.
Don’t be ashamed if you find yourself struggling
with this. Personally, all of 2014 was a struggle with contentment for me. I
wasn’t alone and neither are you. You can overcome this. There is a
light at the end of this dark and cold tunnel.
Contentment isn’t just another “Chrsitianese”
word. It is something real and something attainable.
Just take the following steps daily and know you
will soon feel the peace of contentment again:
1) Pray and ask God to show you where you aren’t
content. Sometimes we don’t even realize we’re envying or we’re bitter.
2) Make a list of the things you are thankful
for and praise God for those things individually. There is something good in
everything, even if we don’t see it at first.
3) Realize that the things we dream about, even
the noblest of things, aren’t perfect and never will be. There is no perfect
husband, perfect home, perfect job, etc. Letting go of this false reality is
the first step to becoming content.
4) Understand that God can give you what
you dream of, believe that God will, but know that even if He doesn’t,
He is still God and His promises are still true.
Contentment is a real thing. It is the key that
unlocks the door to joy in Christ. It is a game changer.
No comments :
Post a Comment