Content in God’s Will
Angela Trenholm
April 14th, 2006
Not that I speak in respect of want:
for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am
therewith to be content.
Philippians 4:11
Are you content in God’s will? I mean, are
you really content in God’s will? After many years of listening to many
brothers and sister in Christ, I was surprised (though I should not have
been) that very few are truly, consistently, content. Truth be told, I
must also count myself among this discontented number.
This is nothing new. God’ Word clearly says: The thing that hath been, it
is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be
done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9
There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make
a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
But what does it mean to be content? Here are
some definitions:
From Webster’s 1828 Dictionary:
Literally, held, contained within limits;
hence, quiet; not disturbed; having a mind at peace; easy; satisfied, so
as not to repine, object, or oppose.
To satisfy the mind; to make quiet, so as to stop complaint or opposition;
to appease; to make easy in any situation;
To please or gratify.
Rest or quietness of the mind in the present condition; satisfaction which
holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition, or further
desire, and often implying a moderate degree of happiness.
Acquiescence; satisfaction without examination.
From Strong’s Concordance referring to Heb.
13:5, Phil. 4:11:
G714 arkeo - apparently a primary verb (but
probably akin to 142 through the idea of raising a barrier); properly, to
ward off, i.e. (by implication) to avail (figuratively, be
satisfactory):--be content, be enough, suffice, be sufficient.
I’m going to go through the definitions, and
as I do so, let us all ask ourselves the ensuing questions.
1. So as not to repine, object, or oppose:
Do I repine, object or oppose what God is doing in my life?
2. To satisfy the mind; to make quiet, so as to stop complaint or
opposition; to appease; to make easy in any situation:
Is my mind satisfied that God knows best? Quiet? Do I complain and oppose
the Lord? Am I appeased in any situation?
3. To please or gratify:
Am I pleased or gratified in and with God’s plan for my life?
4. Rest or quietness of the mind in the present condition:
Is my mind at rest and quiet in God’s will for my life?
5. Satisfaction which holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint,
opposition, or further desire, and often implying a moderate degree of
happiness.
Am I satisfied in Him?
6. Acquiescence; satisfaction without examination:
Do I relinquish full control to Him
without even considering that He is fully capable in managing my life? Is
He my LORD?
I find one point in the Strong’s definition to be especially poignant.
“through the idea of raising a barrier); properly, to ward off, i.e. (by
implication) to avail…”
Isn’t he saying that being content is like having a barrier of protection
around us? That’s what the Word of God says.
We cannot be content without faith in our Lord, and faith means trust.
According to the definition of content, and the following verse, being
content (trusting the Lord) creates a barrier that wards of Satan’s
attacks.
Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Ephesians 6:16
If we truly trust the Lord, we will be
content, and thus this barrier of protection is there for us. When we are
discontent, we do not trust the Lord and we step away from his shield of
protection and Satan can easily attack us, and attack us with our own sin!
The following passages really thumped on me:
Do ye think that the scripture saith in
vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more
grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto
the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to
mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:5-10
How often do we read the story of Israel’s
exodus from Egypt, their wandering in the desert, their whining and
complaining and dare say, “If that had been me, I would not have
complained, etc…” Scholars estimated the number of people who left Egypt
was anywhere’s from 2-6 million, yet only a handful remained true to the
Lord. The truth is we most likely would have acted just like the majority!
Ladies, when we are not content with God’s will for our lives, this is
SIN! It was sin in Exodus, and it’s still sin now.
When we are not content with what the Lord gives us, here are some (but
certainly not all) of the things we are telling Him:
He doesn’t know what is best for us.
He is not all-wise.
He is not fair and is a respecter of persons.
He cannot provide “perfect peace and rest”
He is not the “all sufficiency”. II Corinthians 9:8
He is not our rest.
He is not our high tower of protection.
He is not trustworthy
I could easily continue this list, but I
think we all get the hint.
Yet does not our Bibles say:
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I
have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Philippians 4:11
Let your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath
said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5
Surely, if the Apostel Paul could say this,
then we can too!
I cannot fully imagine the pain of each and every instance each and every
person may go through, yet I fully know the pain of not being content in
God’s will.
We have a God who is faithful to give us abundant life if only we will
accept it of Him.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that
they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Is it that hard for us to see that we are
ALLOWING our joy, our contentment, etc. to be stolen? It’s not Satan’s
fault. We allow our joy to be stolen!
Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation:…But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed. James 1:12,14
It is not sin to be tempted, but it is sin to
dwell and follow through on it!
We have a lady in our church that has one child and has miscarried 6
times. It has been very difficult for her, but she just keeps her eyes on
the Lord. Not always easy at times, but she tries very hard. I have only
ever heard her cry once about this and it was several years ago. The
interesting this is she (by her own choice) is often in charge of the baby
showers! She has not let her pain hinder her from being a blessing to
others.
Sometimes we try to make excuses about the pain we go through and blame
the situation for our pain, but the situation is not the problem: we are!
It is almost always our own selfishness and commitment to what we want
that makes us miserable. The pain is the symptom of the real problem:
God does not have first place.
I suffered "depression" (of my own choice!) for several years, and I can
confirm what I have heard so many times: There is only one cure:
confessing our sin, and fixing the focus of our attention.
Getting our focus off of ourselves and “Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 then having our mind set on pleasing the Lord
is the only cure.
After reading a particular thread on the Lilacs and Butterflies message
board, and grieving for these ladies (not only for the pain they were
going through, but the pain they were willingly putting themselves
through) I ran some ideas by some godly ladies whose opinions I value
dearly. Here is some of their input. It applies to any situation where
discontentment reigns.
Quote: I've never been where any of these
women have been, but GOD is faithful and He makes NO mistakes. I could
have allowed my sister’s death to drive me to depression because it was so
painful, and still is at times, but I CHOSE to dwell on The Problem Solver
rather than the problem, if you know what I mean!! We do have a choice in
the way we think and respond to what God allows in our lives!!
Quote: The biggest need I see in this thread
is the "change of focus" as you have put it. They are focusing on their
lack and not their abundance. They are focusing on self and not others.
They lack the JOY they need because they are misspelling it. The Y is
coming before any one or anything else. DH (who happens to be a veteran
missionary and Pastor) said that until they stop stomping their foot at
God in this temper tantrum and become genuinely rested in HIS will for
them they will not know happiness or peace and will continue to have
bitterness toward those women who are on a different road than they are.
If we could truly grasp what this all means,
it would simply boil down to this: When we allow discontentment to take
hold, the Lord does not have first place in our lives – our sin does and
that’s idolatry! Anything in our lives that takes the preeminence above
the Lord is idolatry.
OW! How true for every single one of us!
So how do we conquer this? The same way all sin is conquered:
1. Confess our discontentment, lack of trust,
and idolatry.
2. Put our focus back where it needs to be: on the Lord
3. Stop trying to be the co-pilot and let God do the piloting, guiding,
steering. He is LORD!
A simple way to maintain a good focus is to
let Christ work through us in being a blessing to others. It's easier said
than done sometimes, but isolating oneself from what we perceive the
problem to be will not solve it, as it is not the real issue. Soulwinning
and good works towards others are a great way to do this.
This comes to mind:
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world. James 1:27
We had a lady, Dee Dee, visit us a few weeks back. She's from another IFB
church in Vancouver, BC. A friend we know, Cece, was coming out for a few
days and asked her if she'd like a ride so Dee Dee could visit her brother
dying in the hospital. Cece had contacted me to see if we could put Dee
Dee up in our basement suite that we have set up for out of towners,
missionaries, evangelists, etc.
Anyway, we had Dee Dee here for several days. This darling widow lady is
80 yrs. old, hardly ever gets to see her grandchildren or
great-grandchildren and was thrilled at the prospect of being in a house
with 6 children, especially girls! We all had a wonderful time and Dee Dee
even had family devotions with us. She sent us a thank you note after and
the main focus was "thank you for letting me be a part of your family".
I highly recommend “adopting” an older lady that does not have her family
near. Focus on being a blessing to her, or several ladies, if you can.
Another idea is to "adopt" a bus kid (the "fatherless"). We've done that
and it thrills these young girls who do not have a mom who is involved in
their lives, either through divorce, etc. We’ve brought some to the
Mother/Daughter banquets, family picnics, etc.
Ladies, I truly hope and pray that this lesson is as much a help to you as
it is to me. How easy it is for any of us to get our spiritual eyes out of
focus and focus on the circumstances rather than He who controls the
circumstances.
I’ll close with a poem I wrote a few years back and the song that came to
mind at the time:
My Prayer For His Will
As I lay beside you in your bed,
My heart is so full of concern.
How I want to see you well again -
Is the prayer that within me burns.
To hear you laugh, as only you can do;
To see your precious smile light your face.
Each moment you have been with us,
Is a reminder of my Saviour's grace.
Though I knew you have a heart condition,
You've been so well, I had forgotten.
But seeing you lying there, so frail and weak,
My heart is burdened with overmuch grief.
Your sickness is a clear reminder -
That to us, you do not belong,
But are lent to us from The Master,
And I know He'll not steer us wrong.
You are our Lord's, and He knows best.
As He fulfills His perfect will,
In each of our lives, it's a test,
And we need but to stand still.
Too often we try so hard to control,
The circumstances that come our way.
Then these become a burden to our soul,
As we've led ourselves astray.
Dear God, if you choose to call her home -
Though I know my sorrow would be great -
Cause me to see that your grace will uphold me,
Help me, as in your care I commit her fate.
Oh Lord Jesus, may this my prayer be:
"That all in Thee, do I put my trust;
That I not question Your perfect will,
And all that You have planned for us."
by Angela B. Trenholm
January 9th, 2004
Written as I stayed up to keep watch on Melissa (2 1/2 years old at the
time) when she had a high fever that would not go down, at this point,
suspecting RSV or pneumonia. Found out the following day that yes, she had
pneumonia and an ear infection. She has recuperated nicely.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:
for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9a
And we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Words: Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907.
Music: “Adelaide,” George C. Stebbins, Northfield Hymnal
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.
Are you content in God’s Will?
Really Content?
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