We had just walked across the Brooklyn bridge. My husband opened the door for me to a cute restaurant we found overlooking the water. As we sat down, I realized my feet were tired, and my hair was wind-blown- but I could care less!
We were in NYC!
“Welcome, where are you guys from?” Our waiter asked.
We told him Texas and proceeded to ask where he was from.
“Sadly, here.” He said, with a look of disappointment.
Coud it really be that bad to live here? I thought to myself.
After we were done eating, we headed back and started the mile walk back over the bridge.
I kept thinking about what our waiter said. My husband and I were having the time of our lives, loving every minute, and this guy wanted to get out.
Well, we are on vacation… and I used to say that about my hometown. I thought to myself.
Truth is, we’ve probably all said that about something in our life.
Feeling discontent about our Job. Marriage. City. Family. Circumstance.
The thing I’ve learned walking with Jesus is that it doesn’t matter where you are, He can break your disappointment and remind you where your joy is.
You will fill me with joy in your presence. (Psalm 16:11, NIV)
What’s making you feel discontent?
Maybe you want something you don’t have or maybe you are walking through hard circumstances right now.
In the Bible, Saul’s discontent and jealousy over David’s popularity led to a prolonged period of hostility towards David.
When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. ‘They have credited David with tens of thousands,’ he thought, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?’ And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David. 1 Samuel 18:6-9, (NIV)
What gets me in this verse is the last sentence.
From that time on, Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
He chose to stay focused on what made him angry (David) and took his eyes off the Father in heaven. Eventually, after multiple failed attempts to kill David, Saul died in battle against the Philistines. To avoid capture, he fell on his own sword, taking his life. (1 Samuel 31, NIV)
He wanted what he didn’t have, spending his life in discontentment.
What are your eyes focused on? Sometimes, I can get caught up in thinking I need a bigger house, or there’s no problem that a little wardrobe refresh can’t fix! (my husband can attest to that!) But no matter how big a house you have, fancy clothes you own, place you live, vacation you take, person you marry, children you have, none of that will bring you eternal satisfaction.
Only God can.
No matter where you live, challenges will come. What matters most is who your eyes are fixed on.
If God is kept in a box, tucked away in the attic, chances are you won’t be happy. You will keep running from everything, chasing the next thing. BUT if you look to him in everything you do, Joy can be found.
There are a few times in my life where I could’ve thrown in the towel and ran the other way, but now I see how many blessings I would’ve missed if I walked away.
He has your life mapped out- He’s your compass.
So, that joy you experience on vacation, the highs in life, CAN be felt in the day-to-day simple things – the mundane.
Fix your eyes on Jesus.
And when you are wanting to be anywhere but here, Ask God to help you see with a fresh set of eyes. Trust him with HIS PLAN for your life!
Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” (Hebrews 13:5, NIV)
Leave a Reply