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 Devotional:
November 2007
Apostle Paul was a man who experienced many different
types of situations in life. On the negative side, he
was belittled, humiliated, shipwrecked, beaten,
imprisoned; yet he also experienced the mighty power of
God, supernatural provision and healing, promotion, and
was chosen to pen a large part of the New Testament. I
think it would be safe to say that Paul faced nearly
every circumstance known to mankind. Through that, he
gained a great outlook on life. In Philippians 4:11 he
states, “…for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content.” That is a foreign concept to
most people today. Instead, we often fall into the trap
of always wishing things were different. Maybe you have
heard or spoken statements like these:
If only my wife
were more like his wife…
If I just had a job
like hers…
If our kids were
smart like their kids...
If our church was
more like that other church…
If my parents were
not so strict…
If we just had the
money to get a car like that one on the commercial…
If we had a house
with one more room in it…
If I just looked like
that movie star…
…then I would
be happy.
Sound familiar? I
call it the “grass is greener on the other side of the
fence” syndrome. We look at other people’s
circumstances and assume that our lives would be better
“if” and therefore completely overlook the blessings of
God in our own lives. This is a very dangerous way to
live. Not only do we insult our Creator, but this can
even be the demise of a marriage, the cause of
devastating financial mistakes, and the list goes on.
In I Thessalonians 5:18, Paul states, “In every thing
give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.” According to this, it is the will of
Almighty God that we be thankful in every area of our
lives. If we don’t conquer this principle of being
content, then we will always be looking for that next
thing to fulfill us; unfortunately, there’s no end to
that road. You’ll always be wishing for more.
So in this season of
thankfulness, let’s try to concentrate on what we have
instead of what we don’t.
In other words, quit looking over the fence and being
concerned that the neighbor’s lawn is greener; be
thankful for your own grass.
In Christ,
Sonya
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