Contentment in Christ

So one of the things I think I'm struggling with in this season is being truly content in Christ. I feel like I'm always struggling with this in some area of my life. In the past it was with relationships, my college major or, my role in ministry. It seems that contentment continues to pop up as a lesson in different seasons for me. As I grow, God starts switching things up and challenges me to be content in a completely new season. The pro in this is that I get to learn new things and grow. The con, I'm completely uncomfortable which leads to discontentment. In this uncomfortable situation I start to long for where I was before because I knew that place. Or, I start to long for the future because at least I won't be in this season/situation anymore. It's a viscous circle of unproductive thinking.

We spend so much time basking in unproductive thinking that we miss the beautiful thing that Christ is trying to do with us right now. I was so caught up in longing for new seasons while dwelling in old ones that I missed every person Christ brought into my life to minister to. He was surrounding me with people who needed His love and He was using me as the very vessel to share that.

I am learning that not only does Christ want to use this time to use me for His glory, but He wants to mature me in this time as well. Which is always a hard process because it's a lot of self-reflection. He is always showing me, myself. It’s a mirror to the parts of my personality and the pieces of my heart and mind that do not represent Him. He is constantly pointing out areas in my life that aren't glorifying Him but exalting my flesh instead. This is a hard process to go through because you feel like such a crappy person sometimes. Then the enemy flies in and starts to talk in my ear about the awful person I’ve become. Then my flesh jumps in and starts agreeing with those lies and reminds me of all my insecurities. Next thing you know, I’m drowning in the lies of the enemy and the dead insecurities that Christ delivered me from a long time ago and I’m just a straight up mess!

Be intentional. It is not enough to just settle with the notions that you're not good enough, that you will always worry about your current situation, or that you'll never be satisfied. That is a trick and straight up lie from the pit of hell. Be intentional, each moment of each day to not agree with that lie. Be intentional about reminding yourself about the promises of God and speaking those promises over yourself as much as possible. God has called me to this particular season for a reason and even though I find that I dread it more than I enjoy it, I must be intentional about finding Christ in each moment of my day in this season. I must be intentional about asking Christ: 'What is it that you want me to learn today?’ ‘What are you trying to teach me Father?'.

Everything works out for a purpose and we can't spend this season reminiscing in other seasons, but we must make the most of where we are today. I'm not perfect when it comes to this and I mess up almost all the time, but I desire to learn what God is trying to teach me in this season. I want to grow, be happy, and just enjoy God in this season. I know I can do that with a LOT of prayer, worship, and patience. These are all things that I'm still working on, but I have the desire to draw closer to God during this time. I do still think about when this season will be over every once and a while, but I try not to stay there. I push to refocus on what God is doing now and embrace that. I know if I do that, before I know it, I'll be on to the next thing.