Searching For Contentment

From: The Word For Today - Bob Gass Ministries

Jeremiah 2:13 "My people have… forsaken… the… living water, and… dug… broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

It's easy to be content when things in life are going your way. But how often does that happen? The Bible says we are to practice being "happy at any time in everything" (Philippians 4:12) because if you put your life on hold waiting for what you want to happen, you may be waiting a long time! Epicurus said, "Don't spoil what you have, by desiring what you don't have. Remember that what you now have was once among the things you hoped for."

Three things constantly feed our discontentment:

(1) Greed. When you dwell on what you don't have, you're not enjoying what God's already given you. Be satisfied! Setting goals is good, but stop focusing so hard on the end result and learn to rejoice in the Lord while you're on your way.

(2) Fear. It wants you to run from something that's not chasing you. It's the enemy's way of (a) robbing you of peace and stability; (b) tormenting you with the 'what if's'; (c) keeping you from trusting God. The Psalmist said, "In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (Psalm 56:4).

(3) Seeking satisfaction in the wrong places. God said, "My people have… forsaken… the… living water, and… dug… broken cisterns that cannot hold water." It's said that we spend our first 50 years searching for security, and the rest of our lives looking for significance.

But we don't have to. "Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates on His law day and night. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade." (Psalm 1:1-3)