The Seed Blog: Brain Chains

How many here today have an issue you are dealing with right now? And you are just kind of fighting and holding on until things change; things get, better; things turn out okay; until you can find answers to the questions and fears in your mind? And you are just living in a kind of holding pattern until then? A state of anxiousness, waiting for the moment you can exhale and relax? Welcome to the mindset of the vast majority of Americans today who have been trained to feel unfulfilled and incomplete so we will desire what they are selling; who have been taught to feel victimized and wronged so we will join in their fight; who have gotten so tired trying to keep everything going, keep everyone happy and make ends meet in a world that is mean, unfair, and confusing that we literally get stuck in anxiety mode. We have created a pattern of thought that is as real as a beaten down path through the woods, returning to it naturally again and again, making it a way of life. We forget how to disengage, how to be happy in a moment without guilt, no matter how many things may be going well, we always come back to why at least that one thing in life needs to be different before I can be content and happy. Two of the worst words put together in the English language are “why” and “can’t”! Why can’t they just be different? Why can’t I make more money? Why can’t I be healthy, better looking, smarter? Why can’t I have someone like that? Why can’t I have more time for me? Why can’t I still have all of my loved ones with me? Please pause a moment and take in these words. How much of your life is simply wasted away and missed; how many moments, how many wonderful days never happen while we are waiting for that perfect time? How many cherished moments with loved ones, with God will never happen because we are living for “that day” when all will be well? That day that never seems to come. One of the greatest unknown sins many of us commit daily is missing the joy of God and others in our lives because of our discontent. By far, the majority of our lives will be spent in struggle, conflict, or uncertainty over something. So, is it good to wait for those times when all is well to be contented and happy in the moment? Or maybe we need to see that we have it all wrong and learn that true joy and contentment is something we can and should have at all times. And that it is a condition of the heart and mind, not dependent upon outside factors at all.

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Let’s look at how God shows us we can live in contentment in our lives because most of us are surely missing something big. Contentment does not come only when things are just as they should be. Those moments are fleeting at best, and even then, we worry about holding onto what brought them.  Let’s piece together God’s Plan for contentment. 1) It starts with one thing and one thing only: Psalms 37:4; John 15:7-8; Matthew 6:32-34. When we start everything with a genuine desire just to know Him and please Him; what we want in life, what we strive for in life, what we hold dear, what is important all change immensely and we will begin to see life differently, want different things in order to be happy and content. 2) See and appreciate all that you have in your life right this minute to live passionately and joyfully for if not one thing changed today, all the things you have that deserve your full commitment and passion, all of the wonderful blessings you have received and relish them. Seize the moment; be thankful; give them your all, now. This is your time of blessings in so many ways; don’t miss them. James 1:17; Psalms 118:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19. We will never get this day of our lives back again; don’t waste such a precious gift. How precious are the people in your life right now that don’t get the honor and love we have for them because we are caught up in our worries? How desperately would you want things to be like they are today if only one thing changed by tomorrow? What do you think just one of these wasted days will be worth when we are at the end of our days? 3) True contentment has never been about having everything perfect in life.  True contentment comes when we genuinely understand, and trust that all our conflict and struggle have a purpose and is being used of God. True contentment is having the faith to rejoice in the God we trust even when we cannot see the reasons clearly now. True contentment comes in not just praying for relief, but praying for strength to embrace and relish the fight as much as the finish line because we can have joy and satisfaction in fighting the battle for those we love, for the God we love and owe so much. True contentment is being able to give witness to others about our faith even and especially in tough times. We’ve been sold a cheap bill of goods. True contentment is not just in ease of life and peace, but in the satisfaction of giving my all, fighting the fight, for what I know is good and worthy. Philippians 4:11-13; Philippians 2:14-18; 2 Timothy 4:6-8. [Every one of these verses was written from prison just before his execution and every verse is about being wasted in the fight.] 4) True contentment is in finally learning t that your joy, peace and strength come in drawing close to and experiencing Him—which actually becomes even stronger in times the world would consider dis-contentment. Psalms 23:4-5. It’s knowing God is growing you into something much better in the experience of your trials and teaching you to trust Him as you never would; showing the world as never before possible that He is real, His Love is real, that your love is real. It’s knowing He wants to be closer to you in those moments than ever before as your contentment. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5; Psalms 94:17-19. If we cannot find contentment even in uncertainty and struggle, we never really had contentment in Him at any other time. So, maybe that trial was the best Gift He could have given us. “Faith that can be shaken in trials was never real faith to begin with.” James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. [Key: Looking to Him rather than crying about my weakness.] Philippians 3:7-11.
Richard Wurmbrand was a minister in Romania who, in 1945, when the Communists seized Romania and began controlling the churches, began a powerful, secret ministry to the believers in hiding. e wasHe was arrested in 1948 and spent 8 years in prison being horribly tortured; even spending a whole 3 years in complete solitary confinement. Romanian secret police (posed as former prisoners) told his family was told he was dead. Upon release, he continued his underground mission and was arrested again, sentenced to 25 years. He was released under general amnesty in 1964 after 14 total years in prison and began his ministry again. Finally, he and his family were sold as political prisoners to Norway For $10,000! (average price was $1900). His many tortures were unspeakable from the pulpit. In all of this, listen to his own words of joy and contentment: "The Communists believe that happiness comes from material satisfaction; but alone in my cell, cold, hungry, & in rags, I danced for joy every night…Sometimes I was so filled with joy that I felt I would burst if I did not give it expression. I remembered the words of Jesus, “Blessed are you when men come to hate you, when they exclude you from their company and reproach you and cast out your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!” “I have found truly jubilant Christians only in the Bible, in the Underground Church and in prison.”  “I found that joy can be acquired like a habit, in the same way as a folded sheet of paper falls naturally into the same fold.” One writer summarized Richard’s heart this way: “He chose it. (Joy) He Chose Jesus. Richard found an abundance of joy in the presence of his Savior – Jesus Christ. It was true joy. Joy that didn’t come and go. That did not cease to be available to him when he was locked into a prison cell.” This reminds us of another who did the same thing in prison: Acts 16:22-25. Because of their praise and contentment in their suffering, an earthquake opened the doors and shook off their shackles but they still chose to stay more contented to serve Christ, than in freedom. [The Philippian jailer was saved that very night.] Not one thing needs to change in anyone’s life here today in order to walk out of here content and joyful. There will always be at least one good reason to be discontented and anxious for another day. There will always be at least one good reason to be contented, joyful, and alive for another day. It is all about how much we trust Him and love Him, compared to how much we love ourselves. Don’t let Satan steal one more day of your life. Don’t waste one more precious moment you’ll never get back. Don’t miss the joy we were made to have in our God. Philippians 4:6-9. Trust that wherever you are now, Christ is there with you; Christ is working. Be contented in your work for Christ where you are now, not in your circumstances and see how God is turned loose in your faith.