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Learning to Live in Contentment

To live in inner contentment, the entire focus of your life must be the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I’ve had short periods in my life when a particular problem or situation would cause me nights of tossing and turning, hour after hour, unable to sleep. I’ve discovered the best thing I can do when I can’t seem to let go of thinking about a particular problem, conversation, or criticism, is to get out of bed, get down on my knees, and cry out to God: “Please help me through this. Help me focus on You alone.”

Sleep comes when my focus is on the Lord and on how He’d have me think or respond in my emotions to a particular situation. Sleep is elusive when I allow my focus to shift to what others have said, all the things that might happen, or the difficulty of a challenge that lies ahead. The choice is quite simple—think about the Lord and His abundant provision, protection, and love, or think about all the people and circumstances trying to rob you of provision, destroy your life, or heap hatred upon you.

Thinking about the Lord brings a person peace. Thinking about anything else is usually a shortcut to anxiety, fear, or worry. 

When you focus on the Lord, it’s important that you see Him as being in your situation with you, right at that moment. Too many people think of God being far away. They don’t see God as being accessible or available to them in the immediacy of their lives. The truth is, He’s present with us in every moment of every day.

I can remember the most peaceful place I’ve ever been—the Sea of Galilee. Years ago, I was at a spot by the sea that seemed to me the very definition of peace and tranquility. However, in today’s world, most people probably wouldn’t think of that area as being peaceful. It’s only a few dozen miles to Syria and Lebanon from there. People tend to think of Israel as a hot spot in the world, a place of virtually no peace.

But I felt great peace there. Why? Because I felt the Lord there. I sensed His presence.

It’s easy for me to close my eyes and see the Lord walking right beside me along the Sea of Galilee. I also find it easy and beneficial to envision the Lord walking right beside me in any number of beautiful natural settings I’ve experienced around the world.

It’s not these environments that give peace. It’s the awareness of God that I feel in my heart when I’m in these environments that produces peace. It’s that sense of “God with me” that’s important for me to recapture, envision, to see with spiritual eyes, when times of trouble hit my life.

Friend, no matter where you are at any given time, Jesus is the source of your contentment. See the Lord walking with you in peace. Sense His presence. Become aware of His awesome power and authority over your life. When by faith you enter into a personal relationship with Christ, living with the assurance of His presence and provision in your life, I promise you will experience true peace.

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