Finding Peace and Contentment In Having Just Enough
The Holidays are upon us! A wonderful time of year and every celebration seems to revolve around food! Perhaps it is a simple “finger food” or dessert fellowship or possibly a sumptuous feast of everyone’s tried and true recipe traditions. And there it is… a smorgasbord of tempting goodness! Before you know it, your plate is overflowing with comfort of the best kind.
All of your senses are in overdrive! It all looks and smells so delicious! You hear the chatter all around you as everyone is discussing how good everything tastes! You feel the warmth that the food gives off, but most of all you sense the love that went into preparing the food! And your eyes, well, your eyes are saying you have to have it all!
You agree with your eyes in that moment and you find yourself with a plateful of love and comfort wrapped in deliciousness! And so it is in our daily lives… our belly feels empty, we want something, often we want just anything. Whether we are choosing from a simple sandwich fellowship or from a sumptuous feast, we fill our plate with what our eyes tell us we want and need.
As gratifying as those first tasty morsels are, we all too often come to the realization that as much as we really wanted everything we put on our plate… we simply did not need all that we thought we needed. At that point we hear ourselves saying, “I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach!” We quickly realize how something we assumed would be comforting, has suddenly made us very uncomfortable! By having all we had hoped would satisfy us, we find ourselves stretched to the point of being in pain. We may find that what we thought looked irresistible wasn’t as good as we expected it to be. It might even leave us with a bitter aftertaste! And so it is in our daily lives… the bounty of this world’s banquet causes us to reach for portions that we simply just cannot digest. It can stretch us into painful situations that leave us empty and bitter! That new vehicle may look pretty sweet… but the car payment may be more than our budget can digest. The appetite for success or more possessions isn’t a bad thing, but if we “bite off more than we can chew” or when we overfill our plates, the indigestion and bitterness can be overwhelming and exhausting. Our plates are so full, our lives are weighed down by stress and frustration. Suddenly nothing tastes good anymore… there is just no satisfaction in anything. We have robbed ourselves of peace and joy! That is such a discouraging way to live.
In this life we may be blessed with many things to feast our eyes upon. And we may even be blessed to be able to partake of those things! When we have a heart full of gratitude for those blessings is when we find true satisfaction and contentment! I believe that gratitude and contentment brings peace!
In this unprecedented year that 2020 has been, most of us are feeling discouraged, wanting at least what we had, if not even more. As you find yourself at this world’s banquet table and you are considering what else to put on your plate, remember what 1 Timothy 6:6-10 tells us:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
If, even in the year 2020, you find peace and contentment in having just enough, consider the next few verses in 1 Timothy 6:
“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”
Fight the good fight of faith, my Friend! Thanksgiving and Every Day, may your eyes see ALL you have to be grateful for! Today I am thankful for ALL God has blessed me with. Today I am grateful for You!
The Sacrifice Of Praise 