Contentment - A Life Long Journey

Contentment- we are all in that stage of life. I realized earlier this year that we never reach a point in our life where we are completely content . You can try to convince yourself that once you get to a certain point, like marriage, you’ll be content. The Lord has shown me that it doesn’t end there. We are all human beings and most times very fleshly ones at that. We are always desiring something else.
Growing up it was my dream and prayer that I would marry a godly man, that God would help me know the right man without me “trying others” and being in a lot of relationships. This is a normal desire and there is nothing wrong with wanting to marry a godly man, but we have to be content where the Lord has us. If you are single right now, God wants you to be content there. And contentment isn’t just saying, “I’m fine with this stage of life because I have to be, I‘m supposed to be content because that‘s what the Bible says.” God wants us to be happy and joyful, serving Him, not worrying about our future with a godly mate. If we sit around spending too much time on ourselves we dwell on the things we don’t have. Want to know a simple cure for that? Busy yourself serving the Lord and being involved in the lives of those around you.
Recently the Lord has brought a godly man into my life and has worked it out that we and both sets of our parent have the peace of God about a relationship. So over the past few months we have spent time together, getting to know each other and the goals we feel God has for us. For some reason I thought once God brought the godly man He created for me into my life, it would all be great, no more dealing with contentment for a godly mate. Guess what? I was wrong, I found myself content in our relationship but waiting and longing for the moment that he would ask me to marry him. God had to remind me, “Anna, be content where I have you, in a wonderful relationship with a godly man, your engagement time will come.”
Little did I know that less than a month after I was praying about this my man of God was going to propose to me. And it was amazing… better then I could even dream, and now, the next project for me? Being content until the day God has for us to marry, August 20th. And I know that once we are wed I will have other issues of discontentment to deal with: homes, children, money, ect… It’s a normal part of our lives.
We will never reach the point of perfecting ourselves in the area of contentment, but this also means we have to keep bringing that sin to the feet of the cross and let God work it out in our lives.
Embrace where God has you right now, “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:7. Whatsoever state in the Greek means who, which, or what - that’s you and your circumstances. Content here means 1) sufficient for one’s self, strong enough or processing enough to need no aid or support 2) independent of external circumstances 3) contented with one’s lot, with one’s means, though the slenderest
Be happy with the things God has given you and the way He’s made you “…Be content with such things as ye have…” Hebrews 13:5. The word content in that verse can mean satisfied but also means to be strong in.
Lord willing this may have given you a glimpse of what to look “forward to” or the work you have cut out for yourself. There is great joy and peace from God that comes as a result of being content and rejoicing where God has you in life, who He’s created you to be. Remember- contentment is a lifelong journey, you’ll never arrive at your destination until we find ourselves in Heaven with the King.

He Leadeth Me

He leadeth me, O blessed thought!

O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.


Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

Refrain:
He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful foll’wer I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Joy when God says “No”

Have you ever found yourself praying fervently about a situation and God says “No”? How many times have you been upset that they Lord told you “No”? We’ve all done it, it’s because our human flesh wants it’s own way.
This past week I was praying for direction from God over a situation. I really wanted direction from God, I didn’t care what He chose, I just really wanted an answer. I had been reading about giving everything to the Lord; every desire, plan, thought, everything. And I did, I gave it all to the Lord. I was still praying about it but not dwelling on it.
On Monday I received an answer from the Lord. During my devotions I read about how we give everything in our life as an offering, sacrificing it to the Lord. Sometimes He takes it and never gives it back, other times He takes it like He did with Abraham and Isaac and gives it back to us. He just wants to know we are willing. Later that morning during chapel I got a direct answer from the Lord saying “No, not now”. He was impressing upon my heart, “I care about your situation, and I want to give you my best, but that best you want is not now.” It was amazing that God answered so directly and I knew that it was Him, not myself.
The best part was the peace and joy that came with hearing the answer of “No”. Most times when someone tells us “No” it upset us and we just have a hard time accepting it. But with God we have the free will to choose how we respond to His direction; we can readily accept it or rebelliously reject it. Why do we always seem to reject it? There is such a phenomenal amount of happiness that we gain when we accept His will for our own. I was just rejoicing that day, literally my heart was overflowing that my Father had answered, and He even said “No”. But I knew it was from Him and that made all the difference in the world.

Short Singles Post

Well, I wanted to post again on some things that the Lord showed me yesterday during church. I don't know why but it seems like all I've been posting on is for singles.

Anyway, yesterday Mr. Robinson gave a challenge in the evening and it didn't really have anything to do with being single but the Lord showed me something.

We always love the verse in Philippians 4:7 about "the peace of God" and we love when we have that peace. But he read the verse before to show how we can have that peace all the time.

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall

keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Phil. 4:6-7

The verse before starts out "Be careful for nothing;" basically don't worry about it, don't be anxious. Take it all to the Lord in prayer and be thankful at this time of your life. Yes, thankful that you are single. Mr. Tessin(Missionary to the Philippines) mentioned in singles Sunday School that if you aren't content and thankful now, being single, you won't ever be content and thankful being married. I thought it was so neat that the Lord showed me these verses later that night. So be thankful and content now in your single state. Then you get that wonderful, peace which passeth all understanding. I don't know, I thought it was neat how the Lord worked on this in my life while in Germany and now He is reminding me over and over about what He has taught me.

Message for Singles

Last weeks my pastor preached a really great message for singles and their parents. It was entitled Finding a Marriage Partner.

Ephesians 6:1-3

Some are making the process( immoral lifestyle, courtship, betrothal, dating, ect...) too big of a deal. We need to forget the process and stick to what the Bible says.

1. Build a good relationship with your parents. They are your authority given by God. If they are Christians, they really want the best for you. Heed their instruction by humble faith. Listen! Give parents the highest regard of counsel in your life . Prov. 1:8 - There's a problem with children not listening to their parents. Parents must spend time with their children, you must have a close relationship with each other.
2. Learn now the skills you will need to be a good husband and wife. Prepare now, not after. Learn the qualities now. *Ladies: Titus 2:4-5, Keep a good spirit of live- you set the spirit/tone of the home, keep laundry washed, make beds, clean dishes, clean the house, prepare meals, shop frugally, budget, keep garden sew, serve your dad and brothers, care for children, homeschool, clear up any debt, save money, keep your body clean and neat. *Men: Budget, work skills, house and car in good repair, pick up after yourself, show respect and consideration, provide security, clear up debt, get a house ready, ask your father and godly men for advice.
3. The man is the pursuer and not the woman Song of Solomon- the woman waits Proverbs- the strange woman seeks Issac and Rebekah- both were obedient and waited and God provided.
4. Commit your desire for a partner to the Lord. Psalm 37:5 Do you really believe the Bible? God has to bring it together, trust Him to take are of it. Don't be impatient! Keep busy serving and praying. Serving ought to dominate your life, not being anxious about the "who". Be content while you are single. Phil. 4:11 - Give everything to the Lord. Surrender it all to His glory.
5. Never consider an unbeliever fro a mate. II Corinthians 6:14-17- be resolved that y0u will not even consider it. Some say they are saved but they aren't. Do you have a fervent desire to serve the Lord? Don't start a relationship with someone less than that! I Corinthians 7:39 - only those who are saved. Father knows best!
6. Work with and through your parents Samson did, and so did Isaac and Jacob. Amnon didn't, instead he listen to his wicked friend. Pray together, it's a godly decision. It will affect your family for the rest of your life. Discuss it with each other frequently. Have a relationship with each other and be willing to let your parents have control. If they say "no" then drop it and trust them.
7. Keep the relationship pure ICor. 6:13 - God made each of us unique and to be saved for marriage. I Cor. 6:18 - Only a fool. Romans 12:1 - Not our minds, our bodies. Run away from any temptation . Watch what you put into your mind. Eph. 5:3 - not once among us I Thess. 4:3 - Abstain from fornication

Only a rebel fights against God's will. I Thess. 5:22 - What does it look like? Stay away from the wrong crowd, the dark. Stay chaperoned at all times. Keep your relationship pure. As a teen to fail this is to ruin your life, as a parent to fail it to ruin your children's life.

Finding Contentment

The other night we had our Aloha dinner singles activity and Dad gave the challenge about being used of God in this stage of our life. And the Lord had been working in my life lately about something anyway. He read us the verse in I Corinthians 13:11 where Paul says:

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:

but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

In this verse the word child doesn't refer to an actual child, it means an immature Christian. When we grow in Christ and slowly mature we become "men". This point, as singles, most of us have been raised in church and know what we are to be doing, we are the "men", and we need to not just sit back and watch all the older Christians do the work, we need to get busy. Because we are single we tend to have more time in our schedule that those that are married and have a family to care for. God's given us this time to serve Him without any strings attached. We don't have to worry about a spouse or children to take care of, just ourselves and anyone else we choose to care for.

Like I said, the past few weeks the Lord has been working in my heart, showing me His plan for me right now and slowly I was coming around to the fact that if the Lord wants me to serve Him and He wants me to do it alone, then I will. I am just like any other Christian girl, I want to find the one God has for me, settle down, get married and live happily ever after(now I know life isn't this way, but we tend to think it is). But after Dad's challenge, it hit me; I am single right now and need to be content until God says otherwise. There is no need for me to be wishing that things would just fall into place now. I realized on the way home that I wasn't doing that anymore. I didn't feel that way, I felt different...I am learning to be content in this area.

Philippians 4:11

"For I have learned, in whatsover state I am, therewith to be content."

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:"

Lesson from a Single's Activity

We had a singles activity last Thursday and Mr. Serafin(he hosted our activity at his house) gave a challenge that made a lot of sense and all of us singles deal with it.
Genesis one is the creation of the world, and how after everything that the Lord made He said, "it was good." And on the sixth day He said "it was very good." God created it all, it was perfect.
In chapter two the Lord created man, but there is an interesting thing mentioned in verse eighteen that, "It is not good that man should be alone;"(Vs.18) First God made everything and said it was very good and then He made man and said it wasn't good for him to be alone. So He brought a woman along in His timing, mind you, and it was all good again. God has someone for everyone, except for those who are serving the Lord in areas that a relationship doesn't seem to be the wisest. But we can know that it isn't good for most of us to go through life alone. Two heads are better than one. So much more can be done, when two people are serving the Lord together. Anyway, I thought this was interesting, hope is may have touch someone else's life.

Exerpt from Stepping Heavenward

I am reading the book Stepping Heavenward, it is a little hard to understand at times and I don't fully agree with it but there was a really good paragraph that I thought I would post.
"I do see that the Christian life must be individual, as the natural character is, and that I cannot be exactly like Dr. Cabot, or exactly like Mrs. Campbell, or exactly like Mother, though thay all three stimulate and are an inspiration to me... This is the testimony of all the good books, sermons, hymns, and memoirs I read- that God's ways are infinitely perfect; that we are to love Him for what He is and prospers us; that there is no real happiness but in doing and suffering His will; and that this life is but a scene of probation through which we pass to the real life above." (P.258)
Our life is not about copy another person's and being like someone else. We have to be ourself and live for God to best that we know how. The only one that we ought to imitate is Christ, and never will I be completely like Him, but I must try.

Blind But Happy

Oh, what a happy soul I am,
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world,
Contented I will be.

How many blessings I enjoy
That others people don't!
To weep and sigh because I'm blind,
I cannot not I won't.

~Fanny Crosby~
What a testimony of one of our greatest hymnwriters in history! Oh, that I would accept everything in my life as from the Lord like she did. I love her testimony and all of her songs and poems written. I thought I would share this short poem of hers when I found it today.