Contentment

More Vs. Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Jesus, teach me more

about enough

 

about content

and satisfied

 

Settle the desire

for more

 

and more

and more

 

Tame disatisfaction

and expose greed

 

Because more

will never be enough

 

YOU

must be

my Enough

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

– 1 John 2:15-17 (MSG)

 

Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”

– Luke 12:15 (AMP)

 

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

– James 1:14,15 (NLT)

 

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.  So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

– 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Pain & Joy

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Isn’t it interesting

that in going through a deep valley

 

where all is stripped away

 

we can learn what true joy is?

 

In the hurt

and the less

and the want

 

we learn to look up

 

and we find that the joy

is not really in the circumstances

 

but in the Savior

 

It’s not in the stuff

but in the Divine relationship

 

always being strengthened

by the reliance on who is in control

 

Isn’t it interesting

how pain and joy can co-exist?

 

That joy doesn’t always look

like happiness?

 

But it does look

content

 

Because of who we lean into

 

– Susie Stewart

 

And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

– Philippians 4:19 (AMP)

 

But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God].

– 1 Timothy 6:6 (AMP)

 

So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].

– 2 Corinthians 12:10 (AMP)

 

…constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength],

– Romans 12:12 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Content

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

So,

if you got

that bigger house

that nicer car

that thinner body

those better roommates

that more compatible spouse

 

that thing that you really hope for

 

Then would you be content?

 

Or would you, like me,

find another reason to be discontent

once you got it?

 

Honestly, it would never be enough

 

So what do we do with our discontent hearts,

our longing for more

of what we don’t have?

 

We take our discontent thoughts captive

putting them in check

 

We develop more gratitude

 

And we live in the moment,

in the mess (sometimes)

 

and we tell ourselves

“This is enough”

 

And we find that it is enough

because

Christ is our enough

 

He fulfills our need

 

Everything else

will fade

pass away

fall apart

 

But God’s Word STANDS

when all else falls away

 

And His Word says,

the secret to being content

is

 

I can do ALL THINGS through Christ

who strengthens me

 

And that means

 

that I can live in the here and now

with all it’s annoyances and problems

 

And I can BE content

in Christ

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

 

Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote,

God is there, ready to help;
I’m fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?

– Hebrews 13:5,6 (MSG)

 

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

– 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Gratitude Attitude

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

 

This morning when I woke up

I had a choice

 

Either to be grateful

or not

 

And sadly, I chose not

 

You see, I was bothered

by this

and that

 

And this person

and that person

 

And this hurt

and that was sore

 

and

and

and

 

Until I got to the point

where I realized

 

that the joy was just gone

out of my day

 

My prideful

ungrateful

entitled

attitude

 

was not at all

what I wanted

or what God wanted

 

And one would think

that I was really

stuck

 

right there in myself

 

But with God

you never have to be stuck

 

What a beautiful thing

 

And I set my mind

on things to be grateful for

 

I thanked God

for this

and for that

 

and more

 

And my self-pity

dissipated

 

God’s Spirit

could communicate with me

 

For I was no longer road-blocking

Spirit whispers

 

with a hand up

shutting out joy

 

A heart of gratitude

and a heart of hope

 

is always stronger

than the heart

that tries to protect itself

 

An open heart of joy

is strengthened by Almighty God

 

to weather this world

and to stand in contentment

 

Gratitude

effects

fortitude

effects

courage

effects

hope

 

– Susie Stewart

 

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

– Colossians 3:15 (NLT)

 

The secret of contentment is the realization that life is a gift, not a right.

– Author Unknown

 

He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment….

– Ecclesiastes 6:6 (NLT)

 

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

My Need

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

Needs and wants

can be so muddled in my head

 

And, God, I pray to You

for that which I think I need

 

But really,

in this world of pain

of happiness

of joy and sorrow

 

only YOU really know what I need

 

It is not health

or prosperity

or well-being

as some may think

 

One thing is needed

 

Only ONE

 

It is to sit at Your feet

and listen

 

Only this is truly needed

 

All else is unmerited blessing

 

Cultivate contentment

in me

For Divine Vision

sees my singular need

 

– Susie Stewart

 

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

– Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!
Fear the Lord, you His godly people,
for those who fear Him will have all they need.
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

– Psalm 34:8-10 (NLT)

 

For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.

– Psalm 84:11 (NLT)

 

This is a comprehensive promise, and is such an assurance of the present comfort of the saints that, whatever they desire, and think they need, they may be sure that either Infinite Wisdom sees it is not good for them or Infinite Goodness will give it to them in due time.  Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let us trust God to give us everything that is good for us.

– Matthew Henry

 

“No good thing will He withheld,” but how is this true, when God oftentimes withholds riches and honors, and health of body from men, though they walk never so uprightly;  we may therefore know that honors and riches and bodily strength, are none of God’s good things; they are of the number of things indifferent which God bestows promiscuously upon the just and unjust, as the rain to fall and the sun to shine.  The good things of God are chiefly peace of conscience and the joy in the Holy Gost in this life;  fruition of God’s presence, and the vision of His blessed face in the next, and these good things God never bestows upon the wicked, never withholds from the godly, and they are all cast up in one sum where it is said, “Blessed are the pure in heart (and such are only they that walk uprightly) for they shall see God.”

– Charles H. Spurgeon

 

For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

– Matthew 5:45 (NLT)  

 

Photo by Andy Stewart

 

 

Contentment

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

All our discontents about what we want appear to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.

– Daniel Defoe

 

…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.

– Proverbs 30:8 (NIV)

 

Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, strength of will, content, and a hundred other virtues which the idle never know.

– Charles Kingsley

 

If you cannot get what you like, why not try to like what you get?

– Author Unknown

 

Young men, I beseech you earnestly, beware of pride. Two things are said to be very rare sights in the world~~~one is a young man humble, and the other is an old man content.

– J.C. Ryle

 

The secret of contentment is the realization that life is a gift, not a right.

– Author Unknown

 

He might live a thousand years twice over but still not find contentment….

– Ecclesiastes 6:6 (NLT)

 

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.

–  1Timothy 6:6-7 (NLT)

 

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Love Does Not Envy

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Love does not envy…

– 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)

 

Envying someone else’s life doesn’t make your life better like actually enjoying your own does.

– Ann Voskamp

 

It is a very human trait in us to feel that another’s advancement is in some way a blow to ourselves. It is equally a human trait to feel that another’s downfall and disgrace in some way adds a bit of luster to our own crowns. Of course, nothing could be more utterly false.

-Clovis G. Chappell

 

In some dispositions there is such an envious kind of pride that they cannot endure that any but themselves should be set forth for excellent; so that when they hear one justly praised, they will either seek to dismount his virtues, or, if they be like a clear light, they will stab him with a “but” of detraction.

-Owen Felltham

 

The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God.

-Jerry Bridges

 

Whenever people are jealous or selfish, they cause trouble and do all sorts of cruel things.

– James 3:16 (CEV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Secret

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I know a secret….

 

it’s one I want to spread

to anyone reading this

 

Paul shared what he had learned

and I listened

 

for I myself needed what this secret offered

 

and all of us do

 

It’s a secret

about how to be content

 

and not just content when things are pleasant

but content in any circumstance

 

How can that be when I’m not happy?

When things are not going as planned?

When I suffer and I don’t know why?

or

All is stripped away?…

 

What then?

 

How can I be content

when important things

important people

important well-being

keep me happy

enable me to do what I do things

are stripped away

 

What then?

 

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

 

So there

I said it

 

The secret is out

 

and it has been

since Paul penned those words so long ago

 

and it was known in the hearts of many of his predecessors

 

Joseph in a prison

David on the run

Ruth in a foreign land

Hosea with a wayward wife

Noah on a rockin’ boat

Moses with an overwhelming job

Esther in a palace of pressure

Jonathan with relatives closed to truth

Abraham never able to settle down

Isaac with work piled high

Jonah with a task unbelievable

and the list goes on

 

and the stories go

that each one came to find

that trusting God

and following God

and surrendering to God

is where you find contentment

 

in the messes

and the inconveniences

and the hardships

of life

 

and we each have our head-kept lists

of why discontentment is an option

 

and then we remember the secret

to being content

in any

and all

circumstances

 

I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)

 

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

– 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (NLT)

 

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9,10 (NLT)

 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

– Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

 

Photo taken by Arik Stewart