It's a Process.......

When I was completing my undergrad, the Lord spoke to me through this scripture from the book of Phillipians.

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 was in a season of my life where I couldn't wait to get married and I couldn't wait to be done with my degree. The Lord spoke to me in the shower (of all places) one day and showed me that I needed to learn to be content as Paul said in his letter to the Phillipians because life is a process, and we will always be waiting or striving for the next thing. I knew then, that I needed to learn to be content exactly where I was or life was going to pass me by while I was waiting for the next season of life to happen upon me.

I think as women, especially, we struggle with contentment. We have the kind of mentality that I will be happy when....or my life will be complete when........its usually things like
When I lose the baby weight...
or when we make this move...
or when I have the next baby
or when our family is complete
or when we have this kind of house...
or when I am done with school....
or when i get married.....
or when i have this much money in the bank...
or when i have this type of career...

We think we have to have the perfect set of circumstances to start living or to be happy, or to be truly content...But what our Lord says through Paul is contrary to this, we are to learn to be content in any and every situation. no exceptions. Contentment is naturally going to come easier in some seasons of life than in others.Paul says he has"learned the secret" to being content in every and any situation. Sometimes I read that and Im like"okay dude, spell it out." But I believe it comes down to a choice and choosing to be content in the very moment that we are in.

I know I have struggled with many of these..and with the process of being content..or living for today as Natalie Grant puts it.

Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
This scripture has always had a special place in my life and I have meditated on it many times.I think it first struck me because the word that sticks out is STILL. I have always struggled with being still in the "sit down and dont move or do anything" sense of the word. I have come to think of this scripture very differently lately. I take the STILL in a less literal sense of the word (this is Lindsay theology I have no idea what the literal translation is or the technical interpretation).
I think that many times when we are struggling with discontment it is because we are not experiencing the "stillness" in our spirit. We are not at a place where we have quieted our own thoughts, worries, ambitions, and strivings. We are not at a place where we are still and trusting in God to take care of our needs. Proverbs says that a man makes plans in his heart but that the Lord determines his steps.
I know that for me, contentment is a choice that I make every day. Just as I get up and choose joy. I know that I will always be striving but I am truly trying to discern what is Godly discontentment and what is not.