We spend a lot of time fighting against the way things are. We expend a lot of energy demanding what we deserve. We go to battle routinely, prepared to wage war against people and situations that stand in our way.
However, in the midst of our complaints and diatribes, we often forget that it is not the people and the situations that are really the focus of our contention. When we rail against the circumstances that we find ourselves in, when a complaining spirit is what epitomizes our persona, it is the One that allowed the situation that we are ultimately fighting. When we are angry that life isn’t as we think it should be, it is bound to impact our relationship with the One who not only controls the wind and the waves, but also the details of our day.
As Stephen Neill wrote in The Christian Character:
Every virtue is a form of obedience to God. Every evil word or act is a form of rebellion against Him. This may not be clear at first; but, if we think patiently, we shall find that it is true. Why were you angry? You will probably find that it was because you were not willing to accept the world as God has made it; or because you were not willing to leave it to God to deal with the people that He has made.
In other words, our lack of contentment is ultimately not a disappointment in the way things are; it is an unwillingness to trust in the One who allowed it to be so.
Consequently, in order to be more content, we need to trust in Him more. We need to have confidence that God is still on His throne and nothing that happens on this Earth is outside of His purview. We need to fight a war with sin, not with the circumstances that He allows. And we need to strive to honor and obey Him regardless of the situations that we are in.
Share your thoughts….
How can we fight discontentment and therefore fight the temptation to sin?