Being content and being happy can sometimes be two different things. Being content means you don't always know how things are going to work out, but you know Who is going to work them out. Being content doesn't always mean things are going your way, but it means you are going His way. Being content means knowing He's got this, even though you have no idea what all this entails. If I have learned anything over the last six weeks or so, it is how to be content. I wish I could say I learned it the easy way and listened to Him the first time....sadly I did not. Why is it the lessons learned best are often times learned the hardest?
Being content means you finally get to the point where you smile at the day regardless of what it brings and know that no matter what God's got this. Being content means learning that stress is not from God. It was never His intention for any of His children to experience stress. Our choices are what leads to stress. It's our choice to hit delete on a thought or to hit replay. It's our choice what consumes our minds. This is not an easy task and it is a minute by minute decision. It's a lesson I'm still in the process of learning. Although I wonder if this is one that will ever be truly "mastered".
God has peeled back the layers over the last couple of months and revealed things that I didn't know where there. He has shown me the why behind some of the what. He's answered some prayers that I had forgotten I had prayed. (Don't you just love His timing:-)). He has shown me where I am weak, while also showing me where He is strong. He has done more than I could ever imagine and I am forever grateful. That being said, I have learned the secret of being content.
Content means you go on with life, listening as He whispers, taking the steps as He does. Content doesn't always mean happy. Content means that even though life may not be how you thought it would be at this point in your journey, you are living each day to the fullest and knowing He has everything under control.
To get to the place of contentment though, you have to realize whose opinion really matters and the difference in wants and needs. Sometimes our flesh wants something, but it is not something we truly need. (Ouch....that one just stepped all over me as I typed it.) What we think we need may not be a need at all, but a want. Our flesh seeks for extrinsic rewards, while our Spirit looks intrinsically. Our Spirit looks on the inside and knows what we need to keep us going. Sometimes that encouragement, that validation, that need we seek for on the outside(extrinsically), God looks to meet on the inside. I have days when my heart thinks it needs something. God knows my heart's true desire and often times He takes my "need" and turns it into His want with a few minor adjustments.
If I have learned anything over the last two months, it is this live each day the best you can. When the day is done, rest in the fact that you know you did all you could do. Trust Him to take care of the rest and wake up the next day ready to continue on in the journey. Stress is not a God thing. Stress happens when we let people's expectations become such a high priority in our life that they out rank God's expectations. Stress can mess you up on the inside as well. (I've learned that lesson the hard way as well). Life is too short to let what other people think, say, or do be your constant focus and goal. Do the best you can do, be the you He made you to be, and listen when He says to listen. Not ever part of the journey is full of fire moments when we our days are filled passion and drive. Sometimes we get to the point where our time with Him is our fire that fills us with passion and drive. Our time with Him keeps us going and gives us the fuel we need to keep moving on our journey. Give up trying to please everyone. The sooner you realize that you will never please everyone, the happier you will be. (Yes I am free from that people pleasing chain...so please trust me on this one, it was a lesson learned the hard way). People are going to do and say what they want, it is not a reflection on you, it is a reflection on them.
The journey continues and each day, each moment brings me closer to Him. The peeling back of layers are never easy. I'm not a fan of having my heart exposed, but I know that in the end it will make me more like Him. This is the year to just be me.
Until next time,
~Melissa
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