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hope

Invisible contentment (a Food for thought blog post)

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God has set eternity in the hearts of men … what does that mean? In a nutshell, it means that nothing of this earth will ever satisfy … not completely. Nothing in this world, not riches, not fame, not friends, family, kids, pets, careers … nothing of this world can ever come close to completely satisfying that void we all feel in our hearts. Nothing visible can ever satisfy the invisible ache. Nothing tangible can satisfy the intangible longing, the indescribable can’t quite reach it “itch” we all feel … that what we’ve been doing, what we’ve been striving for, what we’ve been aiming for … just isn’t enough.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for going after your dreams, living up to your calling, making the most of every opportunity. There’s nothing wrong in and of itself for trying to live life to the fullest. The problem comes in when we think all of those things will bring us true and lasting fulfillment. The problem comes in when we think all those things can truly, completely satisfy all the longings of our heart.

Take it from someone who’s been there, done that … it doesn’t work.  It only ends in heartache … long-term.  It only ends in a “chasing after the wind.”

So, what’s the answer? How do you find “invisible contentment” … and what does that even mean?

Invisible contentment is that feeling of being satiated; of being satisfied; of being “full”… similar to when you’ve eaten a wonderful meal that tasted great … with just the right mix of sweet and salty, with just the right proportions of everything you had been craving … and eating that meal until you felt like you had eaten just enough … not so much you had to loosen your pants since you couldn’t breathe, and not too little that you still wanted more, but just the right amount … no more and no less.

Invisible contentment is having a sense of peace even in the midst of a storm that may be going on in your life.  Having a sense of “knowing” that God’s got this … that God is in control and that He holds you in the palm of His mighty hand.  Remembering that God is our Creator … and the One who created all is over all … over all problems, over all dilemma’s, over all circumstances you may be facing in your life.  He’s got this … you choose to believe it … and, bam! You discover you’ve inadvertently found invisible contentment … you’ve found that all the ache that had previously been in your heart disappeared … just as soon as you fully turned your attention away from the problem and toward the Problem-Solver.

No matter what you may be facing today … no matter how big your problems may be … you can have invisible contentment … there is hope … just look up.  Just fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.  He’s got this … and He’s got you.  Rest in His grace.

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Anticipation (a Timeless Truths blog post)

kid presents

 

Did you ever have to wait for something that you wanted really, really bad? Did you get impatient, frustrated (and maybe even a little irritated to be honest)? Did you have such a great anticipation leading up to actually receiving what you had hoped for that you almost literally got sick over it? Well, if so, you’re not alone. Every kid probably goes through the same thing every Christmas Eve … and the anticipation of receiving the gifts they’ve hoped (and dreamed for) probably leaves them feeling so excited they have a hard time sleeping and waiting for an “acceptable” time to get up in the morning to finally dig in to their presents! For us, as believers, we too live in anticipation. Whether it be the anticipation of receiving some type of gift or the anticipation of getting an answer to prayer or some other thing we may have been hoping for, we too have to deal with anticipation … and we can have an expectation that everything will work out for the best as we trust in the Lord because, fortunately, our expectation to receive something good isn’t only dependent upon favorable circumstances … it’s dependent upon God and His power. It’s dependent upon the fact that – no matter what the circumstances may appear to be – God is still in control; God is still on the throne and is still working all things out for our good. No matter what things may appear on the surface, there are many other things hidden under the surface in the spiritual realm that God is working together for our good. Because of that, no matter what things may appear to be, we can trust that God’s plan will always prevail – always. Romans 15:13 (NIV) says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” So, the timeless truth for today is that we can hold onto our hope; our anticipation; our expectation … knowing that it comes from God Himself. We can have joy and peace … knowing that God is in control. We can trust in God and in the plans and purposes He has for our lives … because God’s ways are always far better than anything we could ever think, ask, or imagine (just read Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV): “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

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