A pilot always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians. "What’s so interesting about that spot?" Asked a fellow pilot. "See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying... Now I look down and wish I were fishing."
Why does it seem that no matter where we are... we want to be somewhere else?
Then when we get there... we either want to go back to where we just came from... or somewhere new.
Never satisfied.
Ever felt that way? Ever wonder why you are where you are... Ever sit and think about how great it could be if you were in place A or with person B? Ever have a longing to be someplace...get there...and wish you had never left the first place? That feeling of dissatisfaction and regret can sting... and if we’re not careful... that simple question “what if” can derail us from a fulfilled life.
The Apostle Paul dealt with that... but he didn’t let it control him. He figured out a way to be satisfied where he was...
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Phil. 4:11-13
Paul’s “secret” to living in every situation? Contentment through Christ. Commitment not abandonment. Pushing through not giving up. Seeing adversity as an opportunity to trust God and not as an obstacle.
Today you might be facing the giant of dissatisfaction. You have the choice... sit in neutral, look out the window, and daydream about what it would be like to escape where you find yourself... Or pray and ask God to reveal to you how to make the most of where you currently are. Contentment doesn’t mean that everything is perfect... it simply means that you realize three things:
- God is in control.
- You won’t be where you are forever.
- There is something you will learn in your current situation that you couldn’t get any other way.
The grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence. It’s greener where it’s watered. You have to make the intentional decision to carry the water with you. The Living Water (John 7:37-39). Not wait to see if things improve... not grumble when they don’t change right away... but make the best of the situation you’re in. Learn from it. Seek God in it. Dare to rise above your circumstances and praise God in spite of how the world tells you to react. God has given you an incredible life... don’t waste a second of it wondering “what if”. Instead... focus on what’s in front of you and keep moving forward.
Even baby steps will get you to where you need to be eventually.
