- First Love
- Posts
- ❤️ First Love Weekly #23: The Opposite of Discontentment
❤️ First Love Weekly #23: The Opposite of Discontentment
Weekly post about God in the daily with encouragements from the Word
Jae Leeholland
July 07, 2024
In Jeremiah 29, God reaches out to the exiled leaders of Jerusalem:
10 When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you […]
Here, the Lord promises His people a bright future with just a small caveat that the said plan will come to fruition 70 years later.
There are promises, visions, and dreams God has revealed to me that have not yet been realized. At times, I feel led to pray about them expectantly, with hopefulness; at other times, I can find myself daydreaming and noticing the gap, which often exposes me to the enemy’s lie: that I may never measure up to the potential He’s set for me. And the lie begets… discontentment.
Recently, I prayed to seek His wisdom over an area of discontentment, and He responded by speaking these words over me:
“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
His love endures forever.”
As simple as this verse may sound, there’s truth here that can set us free. Reading these words, I felt like I was in a quiet room with just Him and me.
‘Give thanks, and you will come to see that you have everything you need today to be joyful.’ (Phil. 4:11-13)
‘I am good to you, and worthy of praise no matter what is happening in your life or where you are in your journey.’ (Ps. 145:3)
‘I am good, because I am love, and my love for you endures forever. There is nothing that can separate my love from you.’ (1 John 4:8, Rom. 8:38-39)
If you’ve been a Christian for a while, I’m sure you’ve heard the verse, Jeremiah 29:11, about God’s plans to prosper us countless times— and perhaps imagined the same unilateral view of prosperity as I have. But take a moment to read the whole passage again: the prosperity God is pointing to is the fullness that comes from seeking Him and finding Him!
God’s got a sense of humor, and I think he finds joy in flipping scripts.
In all this, God reminded me of the joy that comes from thanksgiving, which has the power to melt away all disheartening discontentments.
In Paul’s encouraging words to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:16-18), may we find all our purpose, fulfillment, and hope in the One who has a plan to be found by us in our yearnings.
With love,
Jae
“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:3-5)
Reply