Week 5

Week Five

Be Content

Philippians 4:11 For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So far, we have been working on self-control. This week, we're going to turn around and work on letting go of control - of the things and people around us. Most of us spend a lot of time trying to control things we cannot control. The truth is, the only thing we can have complete control of is ourselves. Our actions, words and work can make changes in the environment around us, but there are so many other factors involved!

I don't know about you, but I tend to suffer from this horrible disease called “Mommy God Syndrome”. It's a common problem among moms, but I understand there are other forms of it that infect fathers, single people, and even kids! Some of the symptoms are ADHD No-Sleep Sheep Brain, Pity-Parties, My-optic Misery, and Screaming Witch Voice.

Mommy God Syndrome, and all the other forms of this disease, have a mistaken identity at their root cause. You are made in God's image, but you are not God! Get a revelation of that! There are some things you just can't do. You can't always magically make everything all better. (Although your faith and prayers can help bring about miracles that bring great deliverance.) You can't control your spouse or your friends or your grown children. You can't be in two places at the same time. And you can't know all things! Understand that and you will feel so much better!

Your prayers and your words can do a lot to change your personal circumstances and the direction of the world, but we live in a world of many people and God is concerned about all those other people too. Their prayers (or lack of them) along with the wisdom of God may or may not create circumstances to our liking. BUT! We have this awesome promise from God in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” So, even though we can't control everything, we can trust God to bring blessings out of everything that we encounter!

So how do we learn to be content and overcome “Mommy God Syndrome” or its evil counter parts?

Thank God in All Things.

I Thessalonians 5:18 In everything, give thanks. Not for everything, in everything. In every circumstance, we need to thank God for the good things He will bring out of it, even if we can't possibly imagine any good coming!

The circumstances Corrie Ten Boom went through in WWII were truly created by demonic forces, but God used those fleas to rescue! No matter how horrible your circumstance. Thank God in it and You will see miraculous things occur!

Trust God.

Choose to believe He is able to provide for anything and everything you need. Don't put Him in a box. Often times, we think we need something at a certain time or in a certain way, but remember, God is smarter than you! He may have something different planned for you. If He doesn't answer your prayers the way you thought He would, trust Him. He's probably got something better in store for you.

I've found that the best way to remove stress from my life is to make a list of things I think I need to have or do. Then, I ask myself, “If this doesn't get done, or I don't have this, will it make a big difference in 100 years?” Most of the time, there's not anything on there that will really make a big difference that far in the future. But if there is, I put it on the top of my list. The rest of it, I put in the order of how much I want it. Then, I work on accomplishing it. God is able to provide. If I don't get my peas planted, He'll find a way later to get me some money to buy some … or He might send someone with some jars or cans of peas when I need them. And if He doesn't, I probably didn't need them anyway!

If you really want it (and it's not against God's will) and you keep bugging God about it, He will make a way, but it's probably not going to look like what you think it will look like. Just a couple of examples:

When our kids were starting school, I really wanted them to have a Christian education. We were severely financially challenged at the time. We lived in the boonies in a house with no central heat or indoor toilet. My husband was working 3 jobs to make ends meet, we only had one car and the cost of daycare was more than any job I could get. We lived 30 minutes from the nearest Christian school so even if they gave my kids free tuition, getting them there was impossible. Back then, the only thing I knew about homeschooling was that people in Iowa were being thrown in jail for it. I heard through the grape vine that an acquaintance of mine had started homeschooling. I figured it would cost thousands of dollars and that I wouldn't be qualified, but on a whim I called her to ask about it. I found out that it wasn't as legally difficult in Illinois as it was in Iowa and that it wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought. So I wound up homeschooling my kids and then went on to teach several area kids as well.

For many years I've wanted a greenhouse. With our veggie business booming, we really need one so I was believing that God would provide one. We could have gone out and borrowed a bunch of money for it, but we just weren't comfortable doing that. This winter, I was messing around on the internet and I found a plastic bottle greenhouse! It is something that we can build with very little money and it has the added benefit of giving us a unique opportunity to interact with our customers!

In both instances, I could have borrowed a bunch of money or given up, but I kept bugging God and He made a way!

Accept Others For Who They Are.

When my husband and I first married, we had a really rough time. My dad was the ultimate handyman. He could build or fix anything. My husband has some wonderful talents, but when it comes to fixing things … well, it's just not his strong suit. As a farmer, he has to have some basic mechanical abilities, but he's much better at growing things than fixing things. Of course I assumed that he ought to be able to fix or build anything, because that was my expectation of what a man does. It really caused quite a few problems until I learned to accept him for who he was and quit demanding that he be something he was not.

Different people are made differently. When we project our abilities or expectations on someone else, we take offense when they don't live up to those expectations and it can cause big problems.

My husband used to get very upset because I didn't remember things about him like he does me. One day, he was just sure I didn't love him because I couldn't remember some little thing about how he likes his ice cream and cake.

I got a gallon jar and a baby food jar. I put the gallon jar in front of him and said, "This is the amount of room in your brain for memory." Then I put the baby food jar in front of him and said, " This is the amount of room in my brain for memory. It's not that I don't love you, I'm just not capable!" He realized that I was right and started laughing.

Ask God to Show You How He Sees You and the People Around You

When you look at a baby, what do you see? Do you see a self centered person who spends all its time sleeping, eating, crying, pooping and peeing and has no ability to contribute to it's own care much less the care of others? If you are like most people, you acknowledge that there's not much a baby can do, but you also see the potential that little baby has. God doesn't see you, or anyone else as they are right this minute. He sees you as what He created you to be. When you get a revelation of what God has created you for and the people around you, you will be able to respond to them in an entirely different way.

Many years ago, God showed me that His will for my husband was for him to become a rich man who would support the Gospel. At the time, my husband was a depressed agnostic stuck in a dead end job with absolutely no ambition to become anything more than a farm hand. To the world he looked like a flunky who would never accomplish anything. This revelation totally changed the way I saw him and gave me much more hope and patience. He isn't rich yet, but over the years, I've seen him grow close to God and develop a real ambition to be to be his own boss and to build a business. He has changed so much and I am so proud of him!

In the Amplified Bible, I Corinthians 13:7 describes love as “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fade-less under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].”

Choose to believe the best of every person and don't give up on them. God hasn't given up on you!

Appreciate what others do for you.

So often, we focus on what we expect other people to do for us instead of appreciating what they do for us.

Many years ago, my mom was doing some motivational seminars for businesses called Adventures in Attitudes. She wanted me to take the class, so I went with her. The class was a secular class, but the principals were straight out of the Bible. I had been learning most of the stuff that was being taught in church, but one thing I hadn't heard about in church was a very interesting study that had been done to find out how employers and employees who had good relationships interacted. In the study they discovered that for an employee to feel that the boss liked them, the boss had to give at least seven positive communications (either compliments or positive touches) for every negative communication.

If it takes seven positive for every negative for people to feel liked in a business situation, how much more should we appreciate the people we love? Take a few minutes right now to write down the names of those closest to you. Underneath their names, write down at least 3 things they do for you or things you like about them.

Learn to say NO, and respect the right of other people to say no.

One of the easiest ways to get yourself stressed out is to make to many commitments. You are not God. If you don't have time to do everything, it's time to cut some things out of your life. It is better to do a few things well than to be spread so thin that you can't do anything well.

Recognize that you can't do everything and don't feel guilty about it. And while you are at it recognize that those around you aren't God either. Refuse the temptation to be resentful if someone can't or won't do something for you. If they can't or won't, just go to God and ask Him to be God! He is able!

Have you been doing your Bible reading, memorization and personalized confessions? Keep it up!

This weeks assignments:

Make a list of all the things you'd like to get done every morning when you wake up or every evening before you go to bed. Circle those things that might make a big difference 100 years from now and then number the rest according to how important they are to you. Pray and ask God to help you with the list. Start with the circled items and then do as many of the rest that you can. Mark off what you get done. At the end of the day, show the list to someone and give God thanks for all He's helped you accomplish.

Go on a criticism fast. For this week, try your best to not criticize anyone or anything. (This includes the President and the other drivers on the road.) This isn't something you can keep up forever, but it will help you establish a habit of speaking encouraging words.

Find at least 7 things you can compliment someone for tomorrow. Tell someone they look good. Compliment another person for a good idea they had. Tell another thank you for something they have done. You can compliment the same person every day for the same thing, just be sure to compliment! Keep a piece of paper nearby and make a slash mark for each compliment you give. Try to beat your score every day.

Next week, we will be exploring how to find God's purpose for your life and how to get where you want to go.

Have a super positive week!