Hebrews 13:5
[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.
Could it be that possessions are not what this applies to most, but circumstances? That we are to be content with whatever state we find ourselves in? That we are to suppress the inner drive each one of us possesses for more, that we might not knowingly step outside the will of God Himself. I would not go so far to say that we should never not be willing to move on from a current state or that we are always to be completely content with a current scenario, for God also utilizes human impulses and desires to compliment His Devine will. But I would argue that a man must be able to sit and wait on The Lord with peace in his heart knowing that anything he does outside of Gods will has no choice but to be worse than what God originally intended. For a man to scrap with what he knew to be right so that he might act on how he felt; an awful realization would be imposed on him when he realized the very thing that he reached for fell through because it wasn't God's timing, and maybe it wasn't even God's will. There he would rest where disappointment and regret collide in one torturous swirl of emotion. Which then leads to the next logical step of finding a way to eliminate this possible outcome from my life. The only way to fully do this would be to know God's intent from now till the day I am carried up. But even if I were privileged with such information I cannot confidently say I would act according to it(being His will) and not my will. It is much like a father withholding from his child the contents of a box. It is wrapped in Christmas paper and sitting under the tree until the timing is appropriate. If he told His child what the box contained, there would be no surprise when it was opened; there would be no joy. It would be expected and not anticipated. How often did I as a child beg my parents to tell me what I was getting for Christmas. The second my gifts were placed under the tree was the second I became discontent not knowing their contents. I knew I would be getting something, but that alone wasn't enough for me. How similar this is to the way I interact with God. I know that His will for my life is a present, and a better one than I could ever have hoped to conjure up in my mind. I know beyond a the very shadow of a doubt that I should want nothing outside of His will and timing, but I still beg for my gifts now. I still cast my longing eyes on the future begging God to satisfy my curiosity. But if He did this every time, He would be spoiling the surprises that He has for me.
in these times of waiting, I often find myself not content. I feel like God isn't really saying anything to me and I think that this grants me the right to make things happen myself. The truth is that God has never left me or forsaken me. He takes delight in me when I am faithful, and is sad when I sin. But He doesn't just leave me when I act contrary to what he would have me do. We are blessed with a father who's love is not conditional. Who desires to give us good gifts. I know this but cannot rationalize it. We deserve less than nothingness. We deserve hell. How silly it is for us to demand things from God out of a lack of contentment, and then when we hear no answer, act in sin that we may attain something we wanted.
Application: write "Be a man" on my arm so I don't forget to be a man who's heart is after God alone.
[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.
Could it be that possessions are not what this applies to most, but circumstances? That we are to be content with whatever state we find ourselves in? That we are to suppress the inner drive each one of us possesses for more, that we might not knowingly step outside the will of God Himself. I would not go so far to say that we should never not be willing to move on from a current state or that we are always to be completely content with a current scenario, for God also utilizes human impulses and desires to compliment His Devine will. But I would argue that a man must be able to sit and wait on The Lord with peace in his heart knowing that anything he does outside of Gods will has no choice but to be worse than what God originally intended. For a man to scrap with what he knew to be right so that he might act on how he felt; an awful realization would be imposed on him when he realized the very thing that he reached for fell through because it wasn't God's timing, and maybe it wasn't even God's will. There he would rest where disappointment and regret collide in one torturous swirl of emotion. Which then leads to the next logical step of finding a way to eliminate this possible outcome from my life. The only way to fully do this would be to know God's intent from now till the day I am carried up. But even if I were privileged with such information I cannot confidently say I would act according to it(being His will) and not my will. It is much like a father withholding from his child the contents of a box. It is wrapped in Christmas paper and sitting under the tree until the timing is appropriate. If he told His child what the box contained, there would be no surprise when it was opened; there would be no joy. It would be expected and not anticipated. How often did I as a child beg my parents to tell me what I was getting for Christmas. The second my gifts were placed under the tree was the second I became discontent not knowing their contents. I knew I would be getting something, but that alone wasn't enough for me. How similar this is to the way I interact with God. I know that His will for my life is a present, and a better one than I could ever have hoped to conjure up in my mind. I know beyond a the very shadow of a doubt that I should want nothing outside of His will and timing, but I still beg for my gifts now. I still cast my longing eyes on the future begging God to satisfy my curiosity. But if He did this every time, He would be spoiling the surprises that He has for me.
in these times of waiting, I often find myself not content. I feel like God isn't really saying anything to me and I think that this grants me the right to make things happen myself. The truth is that God has never left me or forsaken me. He takes delight in me when I am faithful, and is sad when I sin. But He doesn't just leave me when I act contrary to what he would have me do. We are blessed with a father who's love is not conditional. Who desires to give us good gifts. I know this but cannot rationalize it. We deserve less than nothingness. We deserve hell. How silly it is for us to demand things from God out of a lack of contentment, and then when we hear no answer, act in sin that we may attain something we wanted.
Application: write "Be a man" on my arm so I don't forget to be a man who's heart is after God alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment