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in the midst of the most neglected service to God, the common tasks of life.
“Contentment is the mark of the presence of God,” he said. “A man may have a spiritually ecstatic experience and yet go on living his life without the awareness of God that makes the heart content.”
Find out what God would have you do And do that little well For what is great And what is small Tis only God can tell.
Be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Having much or little can’t add or take away joy, peace or satisfaction in the heart. He shows us that life isn’t an issue of externals but awareness of God.
That is contentment. When God Himself is our contentment, we know a satisfaction in Him that delivers us from the dependence on circumstances and desire fulfillments.
Contentment refuses to look to the creature for what can only be found in the Creator.
“The one who has lost himself in finding Christ no longer compares himself with others.”
Faith without works is dead. Faith without the fire of the trial is weak. That’s why, when we find ourselves in trials, we can count it as joy.
cultivating a heart of humility and a satisfaction in the places God has called us to.
While notoriety and fame are so often heralded as the ultimate Christian success, God is so delighted with those in holy hiddenness.
“I don’t care what it looks like as long as I’m following You.”
Lord, we are open before You. Search us. See if there’s anything in us that does not please You.
“Lord, I want what is important to You to be important to me. I want what is of no value to You to be of no value to me.”
This is our life’s motive. This is our life’s call, no matter who we are or what we feel we are called to do. Loving Jesus and our neighbor is always our calling.
The enemy always tries to attack us at the root of our identity.
We feel inadequate because we have made the outward praise of man the ultimate goal. We have made productivity the dream. The motive should not be success, but rather fruitfulness. And that can look big, but it also can look small. It can be seen, but it also could be hidden. Both can be beautiful and both can be holy. One is not more important than the other. Our question should always be this: “Am I abiding in the Vine?” Because that is our true life’s motive. Abiding may take you in front of many or to a life dedicated to few. Both are holy, and one does not outweigh the other.
Sometimes, those God-breathed dreams take you right to the middle of your living room, behind closed doors.
Amy Carmichael lived a great, spiritually successful life, not because she was known, not because she did great spiritual works, but because she lived a life of faithfulness and fruitfulness in Jesus, even in the mundane yet spiritual life.
believe our lives will really count if we are continually acting out of Calvary love. That’s a beautiful legacy. And those acts of Calvary love can be done wherever the Lord is leading you. I believe those are the things that impress Him. Not bigness, not success, but loving in the places He’s led us. Have we loved our neighbor? Have we loved our enemy? Have we loved people when nobody is watching?
They are called by God to love their family well, their neighbor well, and have a job in a secular workplace.
Don’t feel shame if you feel God has called you to be “just” a teacher, “just” a doctor, or “just” a mom. Those are beautiful callings. Those are beautiful dreams.
realized when we are hidden in the presence of God, when storms and troubles come, we will be aware they are there, but the effect they will have on us will be so faint.
That’s all He is asking of us—to be faithful with what He has entrusted in our hands.
There is precious holiness in living in the reality that Christ holds our identity and we don’t need to strive any longer for validation.
Many times, the things that are idols in our life are not sinful or evil; they can be good things and even godly things, but we have made those things an idol when our heart’s attention is on the godly thing rather than on God Himself.
Do I cultivate a life of abiding, whether I’m hidden or not?
If I would have held on to my idea of my dream/vision, I would have essentially made my dream a golden calf.
May our hearts be content in Jesus and only Him. May our hearts realize the beauty in simplicity. May nothing else satisfy us but His presence.
Allow the Lord to be first place again. He is so gracious when our hearts are toward Him. There are depths we can only know when He is the Lord of our life.
God cares about the posture of our heart.
It’s important not to confuse “Kingdom culture” and “western culture.”
So instead of looking at the lack of big conferences, it’s important for us to look at the beauty of fellowship and breaking bread together and realize that there is truly something to be learned and celebrated here.
When was the last time you invited your neighbor over for a meal simply to show them the love of Jesus? It’s just as much of a part of the Gospel as inviting them to a church or a conference.
Busyness does not equal fruitfulness. Being connected to Jesus does. Abiding in Him.
in His presence and finding myself at His feet—that’s where fruit that pleases the Father is yielded.
As believers in Jesus Christ, it is the reason we should do anything and everything—to have a heart of worship and adoration before our King Jesus.
Worship is actually a sacrifice of our lives.
Everything in our life can be worship.
Worship is surrender and surrender is worship. Worship is saying yes to God even when everything in you wants to say no. Worship is saying yes to the calling of being a stay-at-home mom, or the calling of being a teacher, or any other occupation the Spirit is moving on your heart to pursue. Worship is saying yes in every situation. We cannot just limit it to what we do in church or even in ministry.
The difference with the Lord is this: God, our King, doesn’t just desire loyalty, He desires intimacy. He doesn’t just demand faithfulness. He desires a friendship.
When we live our lives in worship and in simple adoration, everything could be going wrong in our life. Every dream and desire could be unfulfilled in our life, but still our heart can be satisfied. Why? Because I am not here to perform. I am here to be in the presence of Jesus. Whether every dream and great life goal comes to pass or not, I’m going to be in the same position—settled and at peace. Whether I am known or hidden, my heart is satisfied because I have intimacy with God, and that is the most important part of my life.
Wow. When I consider this story, I think about our lives and the joy and privilege we have to make it about Him. At the end of the day, if our lives have said, “Him, Him, Him,” then we have lived a successful life. Let us never get away from simple adoration and love toward Jesus. It is Him who is our prize, our dream, and our goal.
“I see Jesus in every human being.
Friends, everything is worship. Our entire life, we can wear this hat of worship. We wear a mantle of worship and a garment of praise that should never be taken off.
Everything I do should be laid at His feet.
This shows us that the invitation to worship Jesus is available to everybody, but not everybody chooses to worship Him.
Friend, nothing else matters when compared to this. What people have said about you behind your back? It doesn’t matter. What people said about you when you were following God’s leading for your life? It doesn’t matter. You haven’t broken your box of fragrance before them. They aren’t worth your alabaster box. I’m breaking at the feet of Jesus the act of caring what people think about me. This woman loved Jesus more than she loved her reputation with men. He’s calling us to break our alabaster boxes at His feet. And look how beautiful this truth is: not only did she break her box of perfume
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“Did I pour my life out as an offering for God and for others?”
And if your life leads you in front of millions or it leads you to a life of anonymity, know that a heart that is resting in Jesus and abiding in Him is a heart that has found its life purpose.
