The flames of the refining fire are rising up again. I know it will be hard and trying, but I welcome it for the glory it will award You in my life.
Before you had me focused on taming my tongue, a hard, but fruitful lesson that has made me more full of joy because of Your faithfulness to reward the word to a hungry soul. Seeking truly to please You, I made it my joy to search You and Your word for the way to do that very thing You were calling me to do. I suppose, now, I have learned what it is that You desired me to learn in that area and now you are moving me onto the next thing; Contentment.
The desire for stuff, material stuff, is something I have always struggled with. You already knew that. Shopping, one of my favorite things, but one of my greatest cripplers. Only temporary fillers to make me only "feel" satisfied in one moment, when I am not. I will only be "full" for a little while and then become restless once again when I am bored or sad. It is an emotionally draining and hurtful process to myself and the ones I love, that I continue to warrant myself a part of.
As I am now having my eyes opened, this is something You desire me to learn once and for all. You want to be the ONE thing that will satisfy me, so that my joy may be full. So, now, I seek the One and Only One I know, that can change this in my life for real, forever.
Lord, I desire perfect contentment as Paul had in his life. I would assume because he says he "learned to be content" that, for him, it was also a process, a choice he finally made to say You were it for him.
1 Timothy says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." I desire to be godly. I desire to please You with my life and bring glory to You, but if my I cannot be content, what do my actions really say about my heart? You know the deepest parts of me, and are digging out what is buried, to bring out even the smallest impurity, so that You can so gently remove it and replace it with LOVE.
I desire to not just say that my treasure is in heaven, but to truly understand what it means for You, Jesus, to be the one and only treasure my life seeks after.
I know through Your word, You will bring me closer to You. You will teach me to "know wisdom in the inward parts". You will be faithful to bring me to the other side, and in my obedience You will render glory. There will be growth from this trial, there will be beauty from these ashes I have only to offer You.
Lord, stretch my understanding to fully grasp the gravity of contentment in this life. Your word even says along side godliness, contentment brings great gain. I feel like I cannot wrap my mind around this concept in a full way, I know you are are more than able to do more than I could ever ask, think or imagine.
You are the Author and Finisher of my faith. You take the nothingness I have to offer, the broken mangled disaster of flesh and bones and you teach me to walk in light.
"Nevertheless do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20
Amen and again, I say Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment