In reading the book, "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges, he ends the chapter on discontentment with this statement:
May all of us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, move from negative attitudes of discontentment to a positive attitude of being stewards of the difficult and disappointing circumstances God has given us so that we may somehow glorify Him in all of life.
This statement is pregnant with meaning. I am just as guilty as the next person of having a bad attitude when things don't go my way. But take a look at this statement with me. Jerry talks about difficult and disappointing circumstances as being given to us by God! Think about that for a minute. We thank God for the good things He gives us and the good things He does for us. But what about the difficulties of life? Where do those come from? I grew up thinking the good came from God and the bad came from the Devil. The Devil got blamed for an awful lot! Take a look at this verse:
Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?Job said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." He said this after all his children had died.
So, we see that God is sovereign over all. He is the giver of the good and the giver of the bad in life. Sometimes Satan has a hand in the bad that happens, but only in so much as God gives him leash to do it. God is still in control.
If God is the One who ultimately plans out our lives (Psalm 139:16) and He is the one who gives us stewardship over what He has given us, then it stands to reason that we are to be good stewards of the difficult circumstances that He allows to come into our lives. One way of exercising good stewardship over these things is by having an attitude of contentment and thankfulness. An attitude that says like Paul, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
1 comment:
This is a point often misunderstood and used in a very discouraging way against those struggling with chronic illness. Such happened to me, which resulted in me thinking about it a great deal. I could write an entire book on illness from a scriptural angle. Praise God for the good and the bad!
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