Being Content

Small Stuff

Sometimes it seems like its the details of life that will be our undoing – the cell phone that refuses to work, the piece of paper that can’t be found, or the dog that can’t seem to learn his lesson. We know that these things won’t matter in 100 years, and yet they can be the very things that frustrate us, and cause us angst. We handle the crisis well because we know that there are people counting on us to do so – but the small stuff, that can cause us to lose our cool.

Yet we know, as the title of a famous book implores us, that we shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. We shouldn’t get wrapped up in the minutia of life because they are just a part of living in a fallen world. As Christians, we know that these aren’t things that will matter in eternity (although our response might) so we shouldn’t let them consume our thoughts. We know all this, yet still it’s hard.

However, I’ve realized that there’s another reason that we don’t have to be concerned with the small stuff – we serve a God who is. After all, He is the one that is concerned with the number of hairs on our heads, and whether a sparrow falls. He cares to make sure that even the lilies are adorned in splendor. He’s taking care even of the things that we disregard – how much more so will He take care of things that capture our attention?

Sometimes it’s seems like its easier to trust God for the big things. “That’s His domain”, we fool ourselves into thinking, and we somehow think that the details are ours. However, experience quickly teaches us that we are wrong. We can’t even keep a hair from falling out of our heads, how will handle all the other details that invade our lives? The simple answer is that we can’t. But we can follow God, and trust that just like with the big things, He will take care of the details.

It’s hard to not focus on the minutia of life. It’s hard not to get wrapped up in the details. But we can have confidence that these don’t need to be the centrality of our concern because we serve a God who has the small stuff, as well as the big picture, under His watchful care.

What do you think?  Why do we focus on the small stuff? How have you learned to trust these things to the Master’s care?

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Being Content

Room for Complaint

“Glory” is one of those words that we use a lot in church, and that we see portrayed in everyday life. The football player glories in his speed as he celebrates the winning touchdown. The lawyer finds glory in winning a case. This word, associated with honor, celebration, and recognizing that which is good, may not regularly be used to describe the elation that people feel when they’re proud of their own accomplishments, yet it is an accurate descriptor. And it’s not just their own victories that people glory in; they may glory in their circumstances, the people around them, or their possession as well.

The problem with all of these things is that at some time, they are bound to disappoint. The athlete will have a bad game. The lawyer will lose a case. The people that we found so worthy of honor, will let us down. When we what we primarily honor, admire, and celebrate is something other than God, we will quickly learn that those things are unworthy objects of glory. In other words, we will learn that those things make poor gods.

Additionally, when our admiration is misplaced, we will be tempted to complain. After all, if we are glorifying in something other than God, and we know that eventually it is bound to disappoint, our heart will become bitter when it fact the disappointment occurs. The recognition that we’ve honored something or someone that was less-than-perfect usually isn’t pronounced. Instead, what we proclaim is our chagrin that the person or thing didn’t live up to our standards, and we make the case why it should have. In other words, we issue our complaint. Sometimes loudly for everyone to hear, and sometimes just in the confines of our heart. However, if we were glorifying in God alone, we would have no cause for a complaining spirit. After all, He never disappoints. He is always faithful, always worthy and always fulfills His promises. If we honored, admired and celebrate Him first and foremost, everything lesser that did cause disappointment, wouldn’t compare to the glory that is to be found in Him.

It’s a simple equation really. When our confidence is misplaced, our hearts complain. When our confidence is in Him alone, we have no cause for complaint. So the next time we’re tempted to unleash our reasons why life is unfair, or to dictate our charge against someone who has disappointed, we need to ask ourselves, “Where is our confidence and hope?” “In what are we finding glory?”

 

Now it’s your turn….when you do find glory in God first and foremost, how does this change the way you respond?

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