Being Content Hope

The Trouble of the Day

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It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all that has to happen in a given week, let alone all that we want to bring to fruition in a given month or year. We make plans in hopes of fulfilling our dreams and goals, only to quickly realize that we didn’t take into account all of the unforeseen circumstances that can distract us from our path. Sometimes as one thing goes awry, we quickly imagine all the other hurdles that we might have to face and are conquered by the seemingly endless litany of potential problems. Today seems insufficient; and tomorrow and the next day aren’t looking so good either.

Yet, as we battle with the fatigue caused by our worry, we would do well to remember that oftentimes the load we carry is greater than the one that is ours to bear. In Matthew 6:34, Christ reminds us that there is no use worrying about tomorrow, for that day contains its own challenges and difficulties. Today, in the moments we face now, God has provided His children with grace that is sufficient for the trials we are to face (See 2 Cor. 12:9). When the next day comes, He will provide the new mercies that are needed to bring Him glory and honor in whatever that days holds (See Lam. 3:22-23). Our job isn’t to bear all the burdens of what may be; our job is to trust in the One who was, is, and will be – and who through it all remains the same.

As John Newton reminds us about looking forward and anticipating the bundle of trials that may arise:

“…God does not require us to carry the whole at once; he mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today, and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday’s stick over again today, and adding tomorrow’s burden to our load, before we are required to bear it.

The challenge then is not that today is insufficient for its burden, but that we hold on to the past, and grab on to the future, overloading the day with cares that it was never intended to hold. Our worries are driven more by our own fears than the problems we need to face.

In all likelihood, there will be trouble today. It may be big or it may be small, but whatever it is, God has equipped His children with the grace they need to bring Him glory through it. We may be ill content with the burdens of the day desiring to take on our past and future struggles as well. However we need to entrust those to the day for which God has appointed them, and the mercies He will provide when those are the challenges we are to face.

 

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Being Content

Deviations from Ideal

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Watching the Olympics, it’s easy to be captivated by the precision of the performances. Gymnasts bound through the air barely catching their breath before the take another tumble down the mat. Swimmers glide through the waters with a graceful fury, timing each stroke to touch the wall first. Divers plot every move to minimize the amount of splash that will be seen by the watching audience. They are there to maximize their efforts, for the fruition of the years of hard training and labor, knowing that even a slight variation from the plan could cost them their time on the podium.

Sometimes, we approach life with a similar mindset. We have worked hard towards a certain goal, and we have plotted and planned how are to obtain it. With the laser-like focus of an athlete, we see the prize in sight, if only things go exactly according to our designs. We have set our course thinking it is unassailable, only to find, as many Olympians do too, that circumstances are not as we had anticipated. Something happens that we did not foreseen, someone else captures the medal that was supposed to be ours, and we are left wondering what has just occurred.

i was reminded of this recently when, as I was praying,  I found myself expressing gratefulness for God for circumstances that “were not ideal” but that He had continued to demonstrate His faithfulness. As I did so though, I stopped short at my words. I realized that my definition of ideal was based on how I perceived my life should be. I had a plan for what was going to happen, and things were different from that preconceived notion of goodness. While it was true that God had been faithful through the circumstances, it was also true that God was sovereign over them (Prov. 19:21; Ps. 33:10-11) . He did not see them as some deviation from His plan; He was working through them to bring about the desires of His will (Rom. 8:28). Viewing them as “less than ideal” was hindering my ability to find joy in them (See I Thess. 5:16-18). Instead of trusting in the work that He was doing, I was “settling” for the fact that things weren’t as bad as they could be. It is one thing to be grateful for His faithfulness, but I also needed to celebrate His provision. I needed to not only trust in HIs love, but to rest in His goodness as well.

Of course, the more difficult the circumstances, the more difficult this can be to do. Sometimes we must acknowledge that we find ourselves in painful circumstances as the result of our own sin and that the goodness of God is seen in Him using those consequences to bring us back into relationship with Him (Heb. 12:6). Sometimes, we experience trials that are caused by the sins of others or the fact that we live in a sinful world, and we must acknowledge that even in the midst of them, God is working to bring about His plans for those that love Him (Rom. 8:28). Other times, our struggle for joy is rooted in the fact the fact that our lives are not aligning with our expectations for them. In these instances too, we must trust in both God’s faithfulness and His sovereignty, knowing that whatever plan He has is far better than the “ideal” that we’ve imagined.

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