Black Friday, Cyber Monday and oh yeah. Giving Tuesday if you have any spare change…lol needless to say I think we have it backwards here. If we are really serious about this, I think Giving Tuesday needs to come first.
I can’t lie, I
certainly am one who likes a sweet deal, an amazing find at an unbelievable
price, but there is something so rewarding about being part of giving to
something that is beyond myself, my family or my own personal gain. I believe
it is the very reason that I’m excited to be a Canadian ambassador for Trust
Future Uganda. www.trustfutureuganda.org
The moment I think
that I “owe it to myself” or that I have every right to hold on to my own
blessings, I miss out! Living a life of
generosity forces me to not hold on to things, but to learn the art of holding
everything I have with open hands.
I’ve wanted to share
some reflections on the real beauty of contentment. I had a chuckle when I read the following… the
problem with contentment is that I want more of it J
Giving is the best place to start if we want to live
a life of contentment. I believe that is
why the LORD challenged His people always about starting with giving Him our “firstfruits”,
the cream of the crop so to speak. I believe this is the beginning of the
pathway to experiencing contentment. It
has been said that contentment is soul rest, but why is it so difficult to
really experience. I remember that even
using the word “restlessness” as it related to my aspirations as a pastor and
where God was leading me was acknowledged as a good thing. However, I’m not sure anymore. When you go back to the very first sin
recorded in Genesis, it wasn’t violence, lust, murder or stealing….it was
discontentment. So, if contentment wasn’t
even possible in the Garden with perfect conditions, how much more difficult is
it for us to live in our world constantly being bombarded by what we don’t
have. It truly is a sickness of the
heart.
If I find in myself desires which nothing in
this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for
another world. C.S. Lewis
At the end of the day,
I’ve always known that it is not about what I possess. My life verse from Matthew 6:21 is found in
this paragraph.
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth,
where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and
thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the
desires of your heart will also be.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is
great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing
out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Thankfulness also paves the pathway to a life of satisfaction.
Spiritually speaking
we become sick when we start tolerating God’s blessings instead of being
thankful for them. Gary Thomas
The very lack of
thankfulness and forgetfulness for all that the LORD had done led the children
of Israel astray
Deuteronomy 8:10 When you have eaten and are
satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be
careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his
commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise,
when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13
and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and
all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will
forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of
slavery.
I really work on being
mindful here especially with thankfulness from the moment I wake up to even the
very ability to do the work that I do. I
find myself in the midst of my work taking time to breathe prayers that are
filled with gratitude for everything that I am, that I’m able to do and enjoy.
I learned very early
on in my desire to do ministry to take nothing for granted. I really have seen the providence of the LORD
in placing me in the positions that I was called to. The very fact that my first full time position
as a youth pastor had nothing to do with my experience, my resume, my education…(don’t
get me wrong, those are all very helpful)
because I never applied for the job!
However, when I was asked to take on the role, I knew I had finally
understood that it’s all about God’s timing and not my own.
Inner Peace is experienced through contentment.
A heart at peace gives life to the body,but
envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30
Thankfully I can say
that I have not struggled with envy. To
be honest, when I look at what other people have, I’m really happy for
them. I’ve been on a lot of roofs and
surveyed a lot of properties. I’ve been
able to compliment others on their own personal oasis, but possessions, nahhh,
couldn’t be bothered with the stress of worrying about my stuff. I also realize that is why I gravitate
towards older vehicles now… less insurance, less cost, less worry about nicks
and scrapes because you know full well someone’s going to ding your door…lol
As my brother Edwin
told me, the best way to be happy with my vehicle is to stay off a new car
parking lot…lol
Contentment is about
resting, about removing ourselves from the comparison game or striving to catch
up to the latest designs or technology. It is really finding peace and quiet in
the place where God has me right now, in this season, in this very moment.
I’ve presently
unplugged from social media and it’s a good place for me in this time. I pray that you will find real peace, joy and
contentment as we enter this season of advent and the celebration of Jesus
becoming the very peace, good will to all people.
Glory to God in the
highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Luke 2:14
I pray that His favor
will rest on you as you experience His amazing, faithful love and truth of the
realization that He came to be your Savior!
He came to give you forgiveness, hope and fullness of life as you put
your faith in His sacrifice for you.
John 10:10The thief
comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life,
and have it in all its fullness. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down His life for the sheep.
