contentment

Song of the Week: Blessing I Can’t See by Building 429

“even when I can't see the plan/ I know your love is closing in on me”

One thing that I have noticed that I have struggled with is being content. Dealing with anxiety, I have the constant need for the ‘next thing’ whether its a due date, a project, or something far into the future like finances or my career path. What I have thrived on is being busy. When COVID first shut everything down and there was nothing to do, I went CRAZY. I was doing everything I could to pass the time and I jumped from one thing to the next. Through the first month of quarantine I had gone from taking daily walks to taking an online MMA class. Yeah you read that right, I decided that I was going to learn how to fight. Why, I had no idea, all I knew was that I didn't want to sit around and deal with the present. Now I’m not saying those things were bad, overall my health and fitness improved but no matter how much I would do those things, I was never happy with where I was. My motivations were the future, looking forward to school and getting out of quarantine.

What I had also not been content in was the need for a relationship, and I wasn’t the only one. Uh oh. I said it. Relationship. But not just a romantic relationship but even just the presence of a friend or maybe even a colleague. In my case, I not only craved seeing my friends, I had been focusing on romantic relationships. During quarantine, I had been in a season of singleness and I had the constant thought of when I was finally going to go into the next step. After listening to the WHOA That’s Good Podcast with Sadie Robertson and Michael Todd, I ordered Todd’s book, Relationship Goals. While the title may be misleading, it taught a lot about God’s plan for you in relationship and being content with whatever stage you were at. From then on, I had decided to be content with singleness. I had devoted all that time in thinking about my next relationship to focusing on my relationship with God. I had finally become content with not only being single but also the person that I was in singleness. Months later, God nudged me in the direction of the man who I have been with for almost four months now and who I love very much. Because of my focus on God and the time spent on being content on where I was at, I was able to know that when God nudged me, I knew the next step.

Now why did I use relationships as an example of being content? Because God created us for relationship so it’s no surprise that it is always on our mind. Whether it's a romantic relationship, a friendship, or maybe even a professional relationship. But this isn’t the only thing that tends to stick in our minds. This is also an example on how to get through the process of anxiousness to being content. It wasn’t until I gave into God and devoted my time into him that I was able to feel peace and contentment.

Like I said earlier, I’m constantly thinking about my future, including my career, finances, and pretty much my God given purpose. These are things that I am still working on and I’m blessed to know that I can go to God with all of it. What are you anticipating? Is it that due date a few weeks from now? A raise at work? Maybe irritation with a coworker or friend is leading to a conflict in the future? What are you doing about it?

What I have learned, and am continuing to learn is to pray. Pray, pray, pray. Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Need another verse? How about this one, Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

What’s consistent? God is listening. God is working. So why worry. You may be thinking, But I am praying and I’m getting no answer or But I asked for this and God didn’t give it to me. What’s that about? God never promises a yes. Sometimes it's going to be a no, a maybe, or a later. A song that I think fits really well with this is Blessings I Can’t See by Building 429. If you haven’t heard it yet I encourage you to or at least read the lyrics. The gist of it is that no matter what happens, God is working for us and he is blessing us with maybe not the future we have mapped out but the future he has known before we were even created. So I encourage you to start thinking about what you need to be content with and pray about it. God’s answer may come immediately or it may take some time, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t there listening.