This is from the hayloft of the barn on my Granpa's farm. It's not really a farm, meaning no animals have been raised and nothing besides Granpa's vineyard has been grown here in at least twenty years.
This is my favorite place on earth. It is so calming, such a beautiful piece of creation. Being there has some magical effect of always bringing a smile to my face, from the moment the rusty gate swings open to the moment I drive out of sight. I adore it.
God is so good.
I sometimes feel guilty for rejoicing in the times in my life when everything is going well. It often feels like I'm happy about the circumstances instead of the God who is in charge of them all.
On top of that, I am definitely someone that can be so weighed down not by sin itself, as His death assured that sin has no power, but by fear of sin--power that I give it--that when everything is right, when I'm in His will as far as He has shown me, seeking more of Him everyday, and following Him with all of my might, I'm still plagued by anxiety over past failure or the fear of future failure.
Today it was a little more clear to me that I'm just as called to rejoice, and just as wrong not to, in happiness or sadness. When I read Paul's words that "I'm learning to be content whatever the circumstances," I'm led immediately to think that "whatever the circumstances," especially in the context of the poor health and constant political turmoil he endured, certainly is synonymous with "whatever the misery."
I thought that these circumstances must be horrible to necessitate learning to be content, but just as easy as losing joy in Jesus in struggles is being overwhelmed, even in the face of living everyday seeing God's glory, with worry constantly about what could go wrong next. Paul's words read both ways. He says "whatever the circumstances" and "whatever" means just that. I've got to learn to be content in bad times, yes, but also must I actively seek to be content in good times.
This is my favorite place on earth. It is so calming, such a beautiful piece of creation. Being there has some magical effect of always bringing a smile to my face, from the moment the rusty gate swings open to the moment I drive out of sight. I adore it.
God is so good.
I sometimes feel guilty for rejoicing in the times in my life when everything is going well. It often feels like I'm happy about the circumstances instead of the God who is in charge of them all.
On top of that, I am definitely someone that can be so weighed down not by sin itself, as His death assured that sin has no power, but by fear of sin--power that I give it--that when everything is right, when I'm in His will as far as He has shown me, seeking more of Him everyday, and following Him with all of my might, I'm still plagued by anxiety over past failure or the fear of future failure.
Today it was a little more clear to me that I'm just as called to rejoice, and just as wrong not to, in happiness or sadness. When I read Paul's words that "I'm learning to be content whatever the circumstances," I'm led immediately to think that "whatever the circumstances," especially in the context of the poor health and constant political turmoil he endured, certainly is synonymous with "whatever the misery."
I thought that these circumstances must be horrible to necessitate learning to be content, but just as easy as losing joy in Jesus in struggles is being overwhelmed, even in the face of living everyday seeing God's glory, with worry constantly about what could go wrong next. Paul's words read both ways. He says "whatever the circumstances" and "whatever" means just that. I've got to learn to be content in bad times, yes, but also must I actively seek to be content in good times.
I'll never be content with seeing as much of God as I am at any moment, because there is always more of Him to see, but being happy with the plan He has set forth for my life at this moment is not the same as being satisfied with stagnation in my relationship with Him.
And being happy about having everything in place, for a time at least, in my life isn't wrong as long as that joy comes from seeing through the wonderful circumstances to the wonderful God who made it all and gave it all. In fact, the very foundation of my days being so good is that daily I am seeing more of God . . . and knowing that, I can't think of any reason not to rejoice.
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