Where Are You?

     Contentment.  Not commonly found.

     We have divine Provision for all things that are available to us and but for so many, contentment seems the most elusive.

     Release begins with an awareness of the thought life and then lining up thoughts with God's Word.  

     Soldier of The Cross, you already have His Peace.  It has been given to you, but is must be appropriated.

    Some years  ago I was at a missionary conference in Ethiopia.  The setting was lakeside and although the "resort" was Spartan no one seemed to mind.  Most of the folks under this particular mission were older in those days and the sessions were tremendous.

    One afternoon the men and women were divided, and the women sat (sort of) in one of the cement rooms and waited for the speaker. The door wasn’t available, so we had to crawl in through a window. I don't remember where the speaker came from, but she had a quiet spirit and talked about contentment.  It was a well-chosen topic for a missionary conference.  

     Without any suggestion of soul-baring, one by one, some of the women proceeded to share their struggles.

     Finally, one of the ladies could hardly speak for crying.  She was probably in her late 50's. When she was able to talk, she told about being in that country as a missionary for most of her adult life. She said she had always fought her revulsion for the Ethiopian people. It was a remarkable confession and the room was almost melting with love as she poured out her heart.  She then prayed and asked the Lord to release her from those chains and draw her into the contentment she had never known

     Talking publicly about such matters is not always the solution, but certainly asking the Lord to show what is preventing sweet release is always the first step. 

     It is not someone else's behavior.
     It is not forced retirement.
     It is not a rebellious child.
     It is not any circumstance

     Contentment is not to be associated with liking everything or with escaping difficulty.  It is in the experiential knowledge that God is in deliberate and sensitive control and will not withhold any good thing from us.

     Talk to Him about this now.  
      Aloud.


     

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