Seeking the Joy of the Kingdom
Seeking God….For Abundance with Contentment
“Our riches have made us comfortable, but we are not comforted.” Isn’t that the truth?
To be brutally honest, my prayer of late has been for contentment. The request is revealing, in and of itself. For, in spite of living in the most prosperous nation in the world, serving in a profession that I purposefully chose and a ministry that I feel intimately called to – not to mention being surrounded by loving, devoted families, both at home and at church – I still find myself often struggling with feelings of unrest, discontentment and dissatisfaction. The thing is … I don’t think I’m alone.
Jeremiah 31:14 concludes with God declaring “My people will be satisfied with My goodness.” The DSP (Dan Sanford Paraphrase) unpacks this as: “Discontentment will rule in your heart until you forsake your idols and find true contentment only in me.” We live in a greed-driven culture. Media and marketing constantly bombard us with messages that our lives are incomplete until we purchase their products or acquire their services. Additionally, our selfish flesh and a devious adversary conspire against us to pry our eyes away from the immeasurable Treasure within; onto the paltry “treasures” without.
Where is true satisfaction or contentment to be found? “My people will be satisfied with My goodness.” “My goodness.” Contentment is the byproduct of fixing our gaze upon Jesus, who is the fullest expression of the Father’s goodness. I find that the more I can turn my inner radio station off of KDAN (“all Dan, all the time”) and cultivate an inner dialogue with the Holy Spirit, the more contentment I find. When I stop looking for contentment “out there” and understand that “the Kingdom of God is within,” then I begin to enjoy “the sacrament of the present moment.”
“Our riches have made us comfortable, but we are not comforted.” Jesus promised us only one “Comforter,” and that is his Holy Spirit. My inner feelings of discontentment, truly, serve as a warning bell that my eyes are looking for satisfaction without, instead of within.
As we cultivate our secret, inner life with Christ during this season, may “the things of Earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”
Dan Sanford, Pastor
First Church of the Open Bible
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