If Only...

You may have a need for your car to be repaired right now. You may be in need of some groceries, you may have a health issue that requires medical attention. You may need to pick up your phone and call your mom...these are good and necessary, real "needs."

What about that bigger, cleaner, more organized, more spacious home you've been dreaming about? What about the vision of that sleek car that never has french fries on the floorboard or mud on the back seat where your toddler has placed his moody shoes? What about a husband that finally gets that you do not want him to fix your problems, but simply listen to them, take you out on a date and understand your emotional make-up without thinking your just "moody." Or, if only your child would stop being so whiny, your husband would make more money, your mother-in-law would keep her nose out of your marriage, the list goes on and on. So many things that would make us happier, if only they could be....or would they?

We, and dare I say, we in this blessed country, have issues with contentment. A lot of the time, we have no idea what it means to be content. We really don't even want to take the time to find out what matters. We are too busy pursuing those things, those images, those fairy tales, those illusive "if onlys" that we are certain would make us HAPPY!

Oh, there is that word - happy. If you aren't - get divorced, get it fixed, get it removed, get a bigger one, a smaller one, a better-looking one, a younger one, ignore it....

Where along the way did we lose our ability and tenacity to stick it out, to make due with what we've got, to accept our circumstance and to ENDURE! Where along the way did we forget that God is more concerned with our HOLINESS rather than our HAPPINESS?

It isn't that God doesn't care about us and our desires. He cares about them even more than we do! He loves us and longs to lavish good things to us. However, being omnipotent and omniscient, He knows what we need. He knows what would ultimately destroy us or what would cause us to be pulled away from Him. The good things that God desires to give us don't often look like our personal list we've made along the way. From the time we were little, we've conjured up dreams, hopes and desires. We've set into cement, thoughts of what we must have before we reach a certain age or die - finally being able to surmount the peak of true happiness.

How much time have you wasted thinking about the "if only's," or "when that finally happens." Perhaps a better way of thinking would be, "God, you know my heart, my desires and dreams, but I want to align my life and heart with yours, help me to be more concerned with my holiness rather than my happiness." It is hard to bend our strong will to desire God's will...because we often have the false belief that God will only bring us sorrow, drudgery and a boring life! WE ARE SO VERY WRONG IN THAT THINKING! God has the most glorious, most fulfilling, most peace-filled life waiting for us, if we would be more concerned with holiness rather than happiness. What doesn't await us is a problem free life. What does await us is a supernatural contentment that comes from chasing good things, eternal things, unseen and known things that would blow your mind ...the best might be yet to come!

When we pursue God's will and desire holiness something wonderful begins to happen, we find that we are more content, we find that we are happier! Our heart turns from frustration and insatiable want to gratitude. It doesn't mean that God is going to ask you to remain somber or cause you to walk around wrapped in sack cloth - quite the opposite! God wants you to enjoy your life - because you are in a relationship with HIM. When we pursue God, understanding how great His love is for us we should actually be the most joyful beings on the planet, the most content people! What you need more than anything is Christ. Don't confuse need with want...God knows your real needs - He is the ultimate Provider of them! Fill your soul with what satisfies!

What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:25