Cinnamon Vanilla Nut coffee lingers in my favorite rooster mug...
Bone broth simmers in the crock pot...
Laundry tosses to-and-fro in the humming dryer...
Soothing melodies waft through the air waves of our home.
The girls are still slumbering & Kyle is busy at work. He is on his umpteenth Saturday & simply put, I've forgotten what an actual "weekend" is like. :) I've just come to automatically fill in the Saturday boxes on our calendar, "Kyle work"... This too shall pass yet I am grateful for his positive attitude of determination while things are beyond busy at his place of employment.
It hasn't always been this way...
God has changed his heart...
And his attitude...
Although home is always where he would prefer to be, he doesn't complain or dread or resist working the extra hours that are requested & required of him through this busy season...and neither do I.
It hasn't always been this way...
It's finding contentment in Christ where we're at...
I am not saying this because I am in need,
for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
~Philippians 4:11-13
A lesson God has been instilling in our hearts for several months now...
~ contentment ~
internal satisfaction which does not demand changes in external circumstances
Easy to grasp?
Rarely.
Simple to execute?
Not hardly.
It takes discipline...
Realigning the mind...
And the heart.
It takes surrender...
Relinquishment of control...
And absolute submission.
It takes abandoning the heart to Jesus & genuinely saying, "Have your way..."
"Whatever it is..."
"Whatever it isn't..."
"Have your way..."
And sometimes...
We say it...
And we mean it...
But before one realizes it...
We've reclaimed ownership...
And control...
And then instantly the contented heart is lost...
And turmoil is once again the reality.
All of this is fresh in my mind as Kyle, the girls & I take another journey through the pages of the Old Testament. The Israelites were infamous...
For grumbling...
Complaining...
Discontentment...
They wanted more...
Different...
Better.
Satisfied one minute...
Whining & angry the next.
It was a burden to Moses...
And disheartening to God.
The Lord showed me several things very clearly this week...
One being that He NEVER wills any of His children to bondage.
Of any degree...
~bondage~
slavery
captivity
anything that prevents one from freedom of movement
The counterpart of that is this...
It is our personal choices that most often put us into bondage (there are exceptions)...
And it is our personal choices that most often keep us there (there are exceptions).
Period.
Many times discontentment is a reality because we are in bondage to some-one or some-thing...
Almost always chosen...
Occasionally not...
And facing that reality is what brings freedom.
Acknowledging that something isn't "right"...
Our attitude...
Our actions...
Our choices...
Our situation...
Our friends...
Our lifestyle...
Acknowledging that our heart isn't "settled"...
At peace...
Content.
A "knowing" directly from the Holy Spirit, Himself.
Acknowledging it for what it is & seeking God for wisdom in finding liberation.
He never fails to have the avenue to deliverance.
Sometimes that means repenting of rebellion for choosing to be unhappy where He has us...
Sometimes that means agreeing with Him that we aren't where He wants us.
One requires a change in attitude (of the mental/spiritual/emotional kind)...
One requires a change of situation/placement (of the physical kind)...
Most often we already know in the depths of our spirit which it is.
The key to deliverance, freedom & liberation is obedience.
Yet so many times we choose the convenient path of ignoring...
Suppressing...
Denying...
A perverted sense that some-how, some-way things will just magically resolve.
We try...
We work...
We attempt...
And they don't...
And we're still stuck...
And it's our choice.
Believe me, I've learned the vast difference between "ignoring" & "ignorance"...
One is intentional...
One is innocent blindness...
One is unseeing...
One is blatant clarity.
One is lined with purity...
One is laced with rebellion.
One is destined to wrath...
One is covered with grace.
When God shows us that the unsettled spirit within us is clearly bondage...
He will be faithful to show us the way out.
But in the end...
It's of our choosing.
What we do...
Whether we resolve.
And thankfully, the deliverance is readily available...
But frankly, the choosing doesn't come without a fight...
A fight from the one who desires our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our spirits...
To remain in slavery...
Captivity...
Bondage.
Yet God says, "I Am..."
"I Am capable..."
"I Am able..."
"I Am more than enough..."
"I Am mighty..."
"I Am powerful..."
"I Am Sovereign..."
"And I will deliver you..."
We must choose to what voice we listen...
What voice we follow...
What voice we obey.
Are you in bondage?
Is your heart discontent?
Is your spirit unsettled?
Is it because you are unhappy where God has strategically placed you?
Or does He want you somewhere else & you refuse to move?
*Marriage...
*Career...
*Ministry...
*Home...
Is it because He is calling your heart to an area of service & you are unwilling?
Or is it because He has asked you to give something up & you oppose?
*Witnessing...
*Extending...
*Forgiving...
*Impure relationships...
*Habits...
*Fear...
Is it because He is speaking & you are ignoring?
Or is it because He has spoken & you are disobedient?
"Let go..."
"Give it up..."
"Take another road..."
Speaking from experience...
Surrender...
Abandonment...
Relinquishment...
Submission...
And obedience...
Are so worth the reward of deliverance.
Even though the "giving up" entails withdrawal...
And detoxification of the most uncomfortable kind.
The price merits the Prize.
God faithfully delivered the Israelites out the physical realm of bondage from the Egyptians only for them to launch themselves right back into slavery of the spiritual kind.
Candidly...
We're capable of repeating the same occurrence.
In this home, we're finding freedom of the most beautiful kind...
Not without a fight, yet...
It is an extraordinary thing.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
~Galatians 5:1
