FROM CONTROL TO CONTENTMENT

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot – Psalm 16:5

“At all times, in all circumstances, Christ is able and willing to provide the strength we need to be content. Contentment occurs when Christ’s strength is infused into my weak body, soul, and spirit. To infuse means to pour, fill, soak, or extract. Every morning when I dip my herbal tea into boiling water, I witness infusion.

How does God enable us to be content? He infuses contentment into us through His Word. As it seeps into our minds, it transforms us. Just as a cup of tea gets stronger when we give it time to steep, so we become more content when we spend time in God’s Word and allow it to seep into our lives, transforming us to be like Him.

…It’s our “helping God out” that leads to an anxious heart. When we take over and try to control what happens, we take our focus off the One who is in control and put our eyes on our circumstances.

God…is the blessed controller of all things, the King over all kings and the Master of all masters (1 Timothy 6:15, PH)

I meditated on the truths in this verse: Who controls my life? GOD. What kind of a controller is He? BLESSED… “Contentment is essentially a matter of accepting from God’s hand what He sends because we know that He is good and therefore it is good.”

Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure (Psalm 16:5, NIV)

Speaker and author Elisabeth Elliot makes this thought-provoking statement about Psalm 16:5:

I know of no greater simplifier for all of life. Whatever happened is assigned. Does the intellect balk at that? Can we say that there are things that happen to us that do not belong to our lovingly assigned “portion”? Are some things, then, out of control of the Almighty?

Every assignment is measured and controlled for my eternal good. As I accept the given portion other options are cancelled. Decisions become much easier, directions clearer, and hence my heart becomes inexpressibly quieter. A quiet heart is content with what God gives.”