Children of God: Day Twenty-One, Forty Days of Prayer

In the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘children of the living God” (Romans 9:26 NIV). 

Lord our God, we thank you that you have called us your children, a people who may serve you even in suffering and temptation. Grant that the grace of Jesus Christ may be in us so that we can be victorious over everything that life puts in our way and can withstand the distress that surrounds so many people. O Lord our God, our only refuge, to you alone can we appeal for evil to end and for the victory of Jesus Christ to break through. In that hour we shall rejoice and be glad as your people. Amen.

–Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt

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Do You Have the Right Job? Or, What is Contentment?

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have” (Phil. 4:11).

Contentment is deep and abiding satisfaction in God himself. Contentment focuses on God’s presence, joy, and love as opposed to our wants, needs, and wishes. Nothing the world offers compares with this deep sense of fulfillment gifted us in the love of Christ. Contentment is found when are our emotional needs are met in God’s love and our inadequacies are overwhelmed in God’s sufficiency. We experience true joy because Jesus has met our deepest need–peace with God. We are fulfilled in Christ. Therefore, we are content with the necessities of life that the Lord has provided.

Contentment is developed over time: it is not an instant virtue. Contentment is obtained through trusting Christ and a willingness to live without the world’s passing fashions (Phil 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:6; Heb. 13:5). Contentment is found by trusting God’s will, submitting to his appointments (even if they may be disappointments), and drawing strength from Christ (Phil. 4:13). We want contentment because we want him and contentment give us more of him and less of us.

“There is no such thing as the right place, the right job, the right calling or ministry. I can be happy or unhappy in all situations. I am sure of it, because I have been. I have felt distraught and joyful in situations of abundance as well as poverty, in situations of popularity and anonymity, in situations of success and failure.

The difference was never based on the situation itself, but always on my state of mind and heart. When I knew I was walking with God, I always felt happy and at peace. When I was entangled in my own complaints and emotional needs, I always felt restless and divided.”

~~ Henri Nouwen, Seeking Peace

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