Contenment and Aspirations

"Glorifying God means that we praise Him with a full heart, absolute contentment, knowing that our lot is God’s plan for us now.”
~John MacArthur~

Had a great email from Gates the other day that made extra neurons fire in my cerebral cortex! The topic is on Contentment and Aspirations. Read below an edited version of Gates' email. Soak in these great thoughts to understand where you are in life and how God is "pruning" your branches in order to develop amazing fruit!

We all need a proper perspective on things in the midst of our desires to make a mark and have a bigger impact in the world around us. We all get caught up in our routines sometimes that it’s like watching Bill Murray in Groundhog Day where it feels like you are re-living the same day over and over. But, I have found some good perspective this week in John MacArthur’s “The Keys to Spiritual Discipline.” He hit on some key points this week…Trust God, Give Praise to God, Endure Suffering, Be Content, Pray According to God’s Will, and more. Being Content probably spoke louder than most to me right now in the midst of some feelings of wanting to do more with my life.

Here is an excerpt from MacArthur's book...

“Discontent characterizes the age in which we live. We may be discontent about ourselves and our circumstances. But who made us? God. And He promises to supply all our needs. When we are content, we acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our lives, and that gives Him glory. If we are discontent, it’s the same as questioning God’s wisdom….Paul testified ‘I’ve learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am…I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.’ (Philippians 4:11-12)…..Paul understood God’s working in his life, and he was confident that God would use all things – poverty as well as abundance, comfort as well as pain – for Paul’s good and God’s glory. He didn’t say, I will give God glory in spite of my pain, he said I will give God glory because of it. Discontent is a sin because it robs God of glory….Glorifying God means that we praise Him with a full heart, absolute contentment, knowing that our lot is God’s plan for us now.” (Emphasis added)

Good stuff from MacArthur! While we are made to aspire to do more for the Creator, we should not be moping around saying, "woe is me." We can be anxious to do more but respect where God has put us for now. I am learning to be more content in this period of waiting. My passion and energy comes by leading people; Leading them to the point where I can have a significant impact on the lives of others...we are all in specific places presently for a specific reason and we must accept that there is something more going on in preparation, so for now, you and I will, as did Paul, learn to be content in whatever circumstances we are in. (Emphasis added)