Contentment ....

I receive quite a few "feed burner" emails daily from my favorite blogs.  I usually just blow through them super fast without even pulling up the blog.  Look at the titles, see if I have any interest, then delete if none ...

This post from The Cheap and Choosy almost brought me to tears .... I wanted to repost it over here and link up to it ... it is worth the few minutes to read it to re-center your thoughts and bring things back to the heart of the matter!

(I cut and pasted it as well for those of you who do like I and only read the feed burner email!)

There are two kinds of contentment. There is that which is necessary to live at peace with God and experience His power. That is the kind of contentment that Paul spoke of when he said, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Phillipians 4:12) It's the kind of contentment spoken about in the book of Hebrews that says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5).

It's even deeper than that. It's the contentment, or should I say "rest" that knows deep within that "there is no good thing in me,"(Romans 7) and that Jesus IS my "clean hands" and my "pure heart." (Psalm 24:3&4) That He "accomplishes all things for me." (Psalm 57:2) The peace of knowing that we are in Christ and He is in us, and that we cannot nor do we need to DO anything in our own strength or initiative. It's the rest that knows we are the tree, and He is the life. (Psalm 1) We are the well, and He is the water, we are the branch, He is the vine (John 15). There is a rest that we should seek to find in Him, that keeps us undisturbed and secure from every storm, whether it's a teething baby ;), a person trying to tear us down by criticizing us, a sickness, a financial crisis, a -fill in the blank-. Whatever the storm, we can be at rest.

Do you remember or have you heard the story of Jesus and his disciples on the stormy sea? (Matthew 8) It was a horrible storm. It seemed totally and completely impossible that the little boat would survive. Everyone was totally freaking out, and rightfully so...except one. Jesus. He was ASLEEP. Let that sink in a minute. We're talking *big* storm here. Major thunder, lightning, and humongous waves knocking the boat around and splashing with tremendous force on the deck. 

The story tells of how the disciples woke him up, how they couldn't fathom how He could possibly be sleeping at such a time. The lovely, wonderful thing was that He got up, went on deck, held out His hand and said, "Peace. Be still." The storm immediately ceased. Just stopped. Just like that. In an instant. The disciples marveled. Who must He be that even the wind and the waves obeyed Him?

Friends, it is so wonderful that He stopped the storm. I love Jesus. He loves us so much. He meets us where we're at. He knows how much we can handle. He is so merciful.

But let me tell you, I want to be so wrapped up in Him. I want to be so aware that I am hidden in Christ in God (Col. 3:3), that I can just cuddle up with Him and rest, and not be afraid of the storm. As it is, I think I probably would have been right there with the disciples, shaking Him and pleading for Him to wake up and DO something.

It must have been amazing to see His hand and see Him display His control of nature with a single word, but how much more amazing would it be, to know Him enough and trust Him enough to have already known that He had it under control, and to have been asleep with Him? How awesome would it be to have never been gripped with fear and panic and hysteria? He loves us so much. He doesn't get ruffled because of our fear, panic, and hysteria. Trust me I know, as an expert in all three, but He tells us again and again. Do. Not. Fear. I think He would love for us to curl up with Him and rest, and maybe even be the ones to speak peace into the lives of others in the storm.  

Let's let our striving be for rest...for entering into HIS rest. He hasaccomplished everything for us! All He asks is that we trust and obey. That is a good kind of rest, a good kind of contentment.

This didn't go the direction I'd planned, but it's been encouraging to me as I've written. I hope it encourages someone else.


Hopefully you were impacted as much as I ... may we all find rest and contentment in Christ Jesus our Lord!