Why Feeling Unhappy Can Be a Positive Force for Change

Discontentment is a feeling that we all experience at some point in our lives. It can manifest in many different ways – feeling bored with our routine, dissatisfied with our job or relationships, or simply feeling like something is missing in our lives. While discontentment is a negative emotion, in that it can indicate a mistrust in God, it can also be a powerful force for change and personal growth. In this blog post, we’ll explore why embracing discontentment can lead to positive outcomes, and how to channel those feelings into action, while avoiding unhealthy discontentment that serves only to bring us down.

It’s great to have a growth mindset and a desire to improve your life. However, discontentment can become unhealthy when it leads to a constant feeling of dissatisfaction and a belief that nothing is ever good enough. When discontentment takes over, it can lead to negative self-talk, comparison to others, and a feeling of hopelessness. It’s important to recognize when discontentment is becoming unhealthy and take steps to address it.

Sometimes the Lord may cause us to feel a little discontended because we need to change something in our life. We become discontented with our job before we think about looking for another one. Being discontented with our looks or the way we feel, can cause us to make healthier lifestyle choices. A little discontentment nearly always precedes an important life change.

Healthy vs. unhealthy discontentment

But what happens when we cross the line from healthy to unhealthy discontentment?

Contentment is a mindset. The contented person realizes that no one has everything in this life and is thankful for what God has given them. They get a little discontented at times when they don’t like something about themselves or their surroundings and decide to make a change. They get excited about that change and start a new project, diet, class, etc. with enthusiasm and look forward to a good outcome.

Unhealthy discontentment is feeling gloomy because we can’t get what we want and we become depressed or cranky. Perhaps we don’t have the funds or means for something we desire. At times like this, it helps to remember that the earth belongs to God and everything in it and accept that it may not be meant for us to have it at this time.

A lesson from old

dirty prison cell — Photo by Cameron Casey on Pexels.com

The apostle Paul said that he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in. (Philippians 4:11) He was in some pretty bad circumstances during his life, including being beaten and in prison more than once. How did he maintain such contentment?

First of all, he knew he was in God’s will. After his Damascus Road experience where Jesus told him exactly what He wanted him to do, Paul obeyed. He spent the rest of his life bringing Christianity to the Gentiles. Unfortunately, everyone didn’t like what he was doing and he ended up in prison. But Paul accepted his fate as part of God’s plan for him and took advantage of his situation. Some of the best letters that we read in our Bible today were written from his prison cell.

Secondly, Paul knew that this earthly life wasn’t all there was. He realized that he was just passing through and was looking forward to his forever home in eternity.

We live in a fallen world. No matter how hard we try, things will never be perfect here because we weren’t created for this world. We were created to live in a world with God where everything is perfect. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to be our best while we are here, but keeping that truth in perspective will go a long way in avoiding discontentment.

The power of gratitude

old lady with a huge smile on her face holding a piece of fruit out to God - obviously grateful — Photo by Italo Melo on Pexels.com

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by discontentment, thank God. Gratefulness is the best antidote for discontentment. We don’t let our children have everything they want and neither does our heavenly Father. But He does promise to give us what we need.

We sometimes tend to have a sense of entitlement and begin to focus on what we don’t have instead of what we have. By simply changing our mindset to become thankful for all the blessing in our life, our spirits will soar. Start thanking God for the blessings in your life one by one and you won’t get very far down the list before you are feeling happy once again.

God gives us each different talents, abilities, and resources. When you find yourself envying someone else, ask yourself if you would like to trade their entire life for yours? The answer is probably not. We tend to envy another person’s possessions or attributes without stopping to think about the things in their life that aren’t so great.

Total contentment

While we will never be totally free from discontentment in this world, we can work to be as contented as Paul by realizing this is not our eternal home, focusing on our God assignments here on earth, and being thankful and grateful for the blessings God has given us.

Of course, the first place to start to achieve true contentment is by accepting Jesus as the Lord and Savior. If you’ve never made that decision, do that today. For as the Word says “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

1 Timothy 6:6

Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you,”
Hebrews 13:5

How Easter Can Help You Today

Today, I asked the Lord if I could write something fun, happy, bright, and encouraging. My last two blog posts have been pretty intense. It’s been very dark here in Nashville with the recent school shooting and several tornados going through the state, creating more loss of life and property. I had to write about that horrid shooting and, believe me, it was fierce because, frankly, I was fired up!

The week before I wrote a book review for another site on “The American Story” which took way too much time and a lot of effort, but it was well worth it because this book tells the spiritual history of America and the founding fathers. Sadly, it’s a story that’s getting lost in our current culture.

Today, I prayed, “Lord, can I please write something brighter and more exciting this week?” My mind needs to go to a happier place. Then it occurred to me, It’s Easter, what could be brighter, happier, and more exciting than that!

This week we get to celebrate our Jesus – God who took the lowly form of a man and came to Earth to redeem us from our sins. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves by becoming a human sacrifice. But he didn’t just bleed and die like the sacrificial bulls and goats in the Old Testament, He came to life again!

That’s what Easter is — a celebration of His resurrection! It’s a promise that we, too, will be resurrected into new life one day just as He was. If that doesn’t make you want to shout, what will?

The creator of the universe! I’ve been doing a Bible study through the epistles lately and am being reminded of all that Jesus is. This Jesus who touched me as a child and drew me to himself, listens and answers my prayers, and takes the time to convict me when I’m doing wrong, created this entire, ever-expanding universe! Hallelujah!

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or pricipalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:15

Picture of the expanding universe in colors purple, blue, and green. — Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Pexels.com

This morning there was a stinkbug sticking to the outside of my window and I wondered what purpose he had. I did a quick Google search and only learned that they destroy crops. While that doesn’t sound like a very useful purpose to me, God knows all things. Maybe the purpose of some of these less desirable creatures is just to challenge us and remind us that, while we have dominion over this earth, we won’t know everything about God in this life. But God did say that “Everything was good,” when he created it and that’s enough for me. Now go away stinkbug!

A brown stinkbug on a green plant. — Photo by Jorge Urosa on Pexels.com

Not good

However, there was one creature that God said was not good, and that was man. He created Adam and said “Ummmm, not so good here.” (slightly paraphrased) He actually said that it wasn’t good for man to be alone. That’s where we come in, ladies. God created us to help out our man! (I often remind my husband of this when he’s driving.) Man was all alone without us. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn’t be able to reproduce himself. If this world ever tries to make you feel like you are lesser because you are a woman, just ask it to try and get by very long without you. Yea, I didn’t think so.

Of course, we need our man, too. We are incomplete and the entire human race would soon die out without each other. I think God came up with a pretty good plan, don’t you?

But, let’s get back to Jesus. He’s not only the creator of this universe, making him King of Kings and Lord of Lords, He’s also our high priest, forever making intersession for us before the throne of God.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Messiah Yeshua.
1 Timothy 2:5

Yes, Jesus is our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Intercessor, and our Soon Coming King! He’s not leaving us to die and rot in this world. He’s coming back for us! As the world gets darker (and man is it ever), He told us to look up because that means His second coming is fast approaching. (Luke 21:28) Yippee!!

Just as people are destined to die once, and then after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who ae waiting for him.
Hebrews 9:27,28

A person holding a sign that says "Jesus is Alive" — Photo by Adrian Cogua on Pexels.com

This Sunday we get to celebrate all that Jesus is, has been, has done, is currently doing, and will continue to do for us throughout eternity! So put on your best clothes, grab your friends and family, find a church, and sing and shout for joy like there’s no tomorrow, because “He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!”

We have a lot to celebrate!

Solomon’s choice

If there’s anyone in the Bible I’d like to shake and say “What are you doing,” it’s King Solomon.

God had literally given him everything he could ever hope or wish for. He had riches beyond belief. The very goblets that he drank out of were made of gold! He had so much of the precious metal that he regarded silver as virtually worthless.

But God didn’t stop with material possessions. He gave Solomon wisdom well beyond his years. Kings and leaders from other nations would come and sit with him for hours while he answered their questions with his incredible wisdom. Today, centuries later, King Solomon is still proclaimed as the wisest man who ever lived.

Perhaps best of all, the Lord gave Solomon peace. In a land that has known little through the years. he lived and reigned for forty years in complete peace. It allowed him to construct the fabulous temple out of the riches God had provided. He lived a truly blessed life.

All God asked of Solomon was to stay true to him and follow his commandments.

But, unfortunately, Solomon choose to not always do that. Instead of one wife, Solomon wanted hundreds and he took them from foreign lands that worshiped idols, going against God’s direct command. In the end they led him astray and were his downfall.

In his later years looking back on his life, Solomon realized all he had was vanity. He had learned the hard truth that without God, all the riches and wisdom didn’t mean a thing. Instead of continuing to grow in the Lord Solomon had choosen another path and it cost him dearly.

While I want to shake Solomon and say “What were you thinking,” in reality, I often do the same thing. How often have I not obeyed the Lord knowing full well whatever he has for me is always what’s best.

We’re all faced with choices each and every day. Some lead to life and some to death. Right choices usually enhance our life and wrong ones often bring us trouble. Most days are a mixture of both.

No one is perfect and we don’t always get it right, but my prayer is that as I grow in the Lord I will make more right choices than wrong ones.

What about you?

I don’t want to miss out on anything the Lord has for me, especially those pearly white gates, streets of gold and an eternal life in God’s presence that comes with life’s most important choice of accepting Jesus as our savior for the forgiveness of our sins.

That’s one choice I hope we all get right.

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How to have peace in turbulent times

It was our bi-weekly Wednesday night Bible study the day after the 2020 presidential election. Naturally, the conversation turned to the election results which were, of course, still being tallied. But it was looking grim for our candidate – the man that we thought would be best to lead our country over the next four years. We were all speculating on what would happen to our country if the other candidate won. There was concern about the kind of nation we would leave to our children and grandchildren. We were undoubtedly anxious.

We ended our session with prayer and someone asked for God to give us peace.

Peace

We haven’t seen a lot of that in 2020. With Covid-19 ravaging the nation causing much sickness, numerous deaths and widespread fear, as well as prompting shutdowns, cancelled events, mandatory. business closures, illegal church services and an incident of police brutality leading to riots, chaos, attacks on police, violence and burning cities, peace has been in short supply to say the least.

How can we possibly have peace in our hearts with so much going on, especially now with the uncertainty of what a new administration might bring.

Then I was immediately reminded of this verse.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

What a beautiful promise this is for us. We can’t control everything in our world, in fact we can’t control most things, but we can choose to dwell on the Lord and if we do, he promises to bring us peace.

What can we control?

We can control our thoughts and choose to lean into Jesus, thanking him for all the goodness and blessings in our life. This will bring peace and contentment to our soul.

We can read his word to learn his ways and the promises it holds for those who love him. This will bring peace and encouragement to us.

We can fellowship with other believers in order to help each other stay focused on God during tough times. This will bring us joy and peace to each other.

And we can attend church and worship even though we may have to do it virtually for now. Worshiping God and hearing the Word of God motivates us to become more devoted to him which ultimately brings us peace.

All these things will help us keep our mind on the Lord.

Even if we get through this 2020 crisis unscathed, more turbulent times are coming. But God’s promises still hold true. He will never leave us or forsake us. (Joshua 1:5) and that’s a good verse to dwell on for sure.

Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

How Excited is Jesus about You?

I was there when He set the heavens in place,

When He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

When He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

When He gave the sea it’s boundary so it’s waters would not overstep it’s command and when He marked out the foundations of the earth.

Then I was constantly at His side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence.

Rejoicing in His whole world and delighting in Mankind. Proverbs 8:27-31

This beautiful passage is speaking about wisdom, but I think it’s also referring to Jesus. The Bible tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. (John1:1). That Word was Jesus.

“I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence. Rejoicing In His whole world and delighting in mankind.” Proverbs 8:30-31

Think about it! Jesus was there and was thrilled to watch God create this world and even more excited about mankind. That’s us!

Did Jesus know then how evil we would become? How we would abuse the incredible gift of free will that God was imparting to us? Did He know that one day he would have to come and horribly suffer and die to redeem us?

Yes he did indeed! Yet he was still excited to see us come into being.

At one point man became so evil that God had to practically wipe us off the face of the earth and start over. The Bible says that he even regretted making man. But thankfully, God is not a quitter, and he saved a remnant and started over, giving us one more chance at life.

His patience with us throughout our days has been remarkable and His overwhelming mercy and grace has spared us from extinction for thousands of years.

Presently, Jesus is anxiously waiting for God to give Him the nod to come and get everyone who has accepted his sacrifice of love and made him Lord over their life. We can all look forward to that soon coming day when He will take us home to the place he has been preparing for us to live forever with him!

Now that’s exciting!

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions never fail. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:22-23

900 Years and Counting

I’m always amazed at how long some people lived back before the flood. From Adam to Noah, 900 years seemed like a normal lifespan. We don’t know how many other people lived to be 900 during this time, but its very possible that these mentioned in the Bible stories were not the only ones who enjoyed such a long life.

What could we do if we lived 900 years today? We could be successful at 10 plus careers! We all have talents that we have that we have not had time to develop. I love to dance but never had the opportunity to take dance classes while I was young. But if I lived to 900, I could start professional dance classes at 300 and dance for 100 years until I was 400!

If we lived for 900 years we would know our grandchildren for up to 20 generations! Today we live about a tenth of that time, and the best we can hope for is to know our great grandchildren or if we are really fortunate, possibly some of our great-great grand children.

We see the life span of man start to dramatically decrease after the flood. Shem, Noah’s son lived to 600 while Arpachshad, his son loved only around 400 years and by the end of Genesis the life span of those mentioned ends with Abraham living only 175 years. What happened during the flood that caused the life span to continually decrease? Because the people had become so wicked prior to the flood, did God just decide that 900 years in this sin cursed world was too long and he needed to take us home sooner for our own good?

I find it interesting that after the flood God told Noah that is was now okay for them to start eating meat and that this also coincided with the time the lifespan began to decrease. Yet, obviously, their longevity wasn’t solely the vegetative diet, otherwise vegans would live to be 900 today. Some Bible scholars believe it was probably rather a change In genetics that caused the decreased life span since the genetic pool had been decreased down to six people after the flood.

While we may live on earth roughly only 70, 80 or 90 years today; we are in reality eternal beings. Our life doesn’t end when we earthly body dies. Our spirits are eternal. I’m thankful that God has made a way for us to live that eternal life with Him by sending His son to die for ours sins.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Enemies of the Cross

Christians everywhere will focus a lot on the cross this weekennd. Rightly so as the cross and resurrection are the basis of our faith. Without it, we have nothing! Interestingly, Paul warned us, in Phillipians, however, about enemies of the cross. “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. Phillipians 3:18,19. Paul is referring to the unbelievers in his day, many of whom were persecuting Christians.

It’s tempting for us to want to fight back when we encounter enemies of the cross today. Those who blaspheme us for our Biblical Christian values or who glory in their shame of sexual perversion or who proudly “shout their abortions.”

At times, though, we can all be enemies of the cross, even those of us who proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord of our life. For instance, every time I take another bite of food when I’m already full just because it taste good, my God is my belly.

I love the way the scriptures always list what we think are just little sins, like overeating right along with what we believe to be the audacious ones like the murder of another human being. The Bible does this again in Proverbs 6: 16-19.

These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
¹⁷A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

A proud look is listed right there along with murder, lies, and wicked schemes! While we are warned of the evils of sin, we cannot for one minute become self-righteous because we all do something every day to break God’s laws.

Admittedly, sometimes my god is my belly, and I even glory in my shame when I don’t want to readily admit that something I have done is against one of God’s laws, and far too often I find myself concerned about earthly things.

Thus the reason for the cross. We all need it and, thankfully, it is available to everyone of us. This Easter my hope is that I will become less of an enemy of the cross and more of a friend of the cross and live my life in such a way that may help turn any unbelieving enemies of the cross that are in my sphere of influence into believers in the cross.

Happy Easter!

Can I Get a Do Over?

I hate regrets. I’ve made some bad decisions in my life as well as some really good ones, too. The good ones, I’m happy with and wouldn’t change a thing. These were decisions that were right, God inspired, and things turned out well.

Other decisions, on the other hand, were made hastily without listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or worst yet, by totally going against what God was telling me to do. In those circumstances things have not turned out so well. While God is the great redeemer and has saved me from a host of my dumb mistakes, if I had a chance to do things over, I’d make those decisions differently.

As we mature we learn from our mistakes. We get wiser with age and then look back and say What was I thinking? How many times have we said If I had it to do over again I wouldn’t do that again or I would do that differently.

The good news is that we do get a do over. Not in this life perhaps, but in our eternal life.

The Bible gives us some insight into what life will be like in eternity. We will know as we are known (1 Cor. 13:12) We will have important work to do (Rev. 20:6) and we won’t have to deal our earthly, sinful nature (Heb. 8:12)

I’m glad God is merciful and has forgiven me of my many sins, short-comings, and failures. Without His mercy, I would be in a terrible place. I’m thankful that I’m wiser today than I was twenty years ago. I wish I had been wiser twenty years ago. Though I wasn’t, God took care of me anyway – and He still does today.

With God, everything serves a purpose. Every trial, goof-up, horrible mistake, and sorrow we endure here on earth can serve as a learning ground for not only our future on Earth but in the life to come.

The goal is to mature and grow in Christ, becoming more like him every day. It’s a life-long process for sure and we all experience set backs in our journey, but for those who endure, blessings await. For he is preparing us for something greater than we can even imagine!

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? I Cor. 6:2

What is Real Love Anyway?

All God really asks of us is that we love Him with all our heart and love each other as ourselves. Sounds so simple, yet why is that so hard to do? Humans beings have been fighting each other ever since the beginning of time. History reveals one war after another and it continues today. You can’t turn on the news without hearing about murders, terrorist attacks, wars or slanderous assaults on one another.

Social media wars have become rampant with people posting comments expressing their opinions in sometimes the nastiest of tones. In the midst of it all, we hear a lot of talk about love and tolerance, yet it seems like the people who scream tolerance the loudest have the least amount of it to offer others.

Do we even know how to love each other any more? As Christians what should we tolerate and where do we draw the line in order to stand true to our own beliefs and convictions yet continue to show the love of Christ to those whose beliefs are different?

What does real love look like?

While no one would argue that hurting someone physically or emotionally is unloving, telling someone the actions they are taking are good and right, when you know deep down those activities will actually eventually destroy them, is one of the most unloving things we can do.

Who is a friend and who is really showing love? The one who goes along with us no matter what choices we make or the one who challenges us to think differently, considering that there might be a better path to a more abundant life? A true friend speaks truth in love even though that truth may be painful in the moment.

I don’t mean condemnation. Those who condemn have no interest in helping others and seldom do. I’m talking about people who care for one another speaking truth into the life of another person because they care for them as a family member, friend or fellow human being.

I personally am thankful for the teachings and convictions that have helped me get back on the right track in my life when I’ve strayed down the wrong road. They may not have been pleasant words to hear at the time, but I would not be enjoying the abundant life I now live without some warnings, conviction and course directions from God, His Word, and people who genuinely care.

I want to know the truth. Is this activity going to bring abundance to my life or destruction? It is always a question worth asking.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJ

Apple Cider Vinegar, Epson Salts, and Salvation

apples

What does apple cider vinegar and Epson salts have in common? They are both cheap, simple fixes for some common ailments. So cheap and so simple it’s hard to believe they actually work.

My dad used to swear by epson salts. Whenever I had sore muscles he’d say, “Soak in epson salts and it will make you feel so much better!” I thought that was just a wives tale and really didn’t believe him, until I got older and wiser and actually tried it. Turns out Dad did know a thing or two about life. Now I find myself encouraging my family and friends to soak away their tired, sore muscles the same way. One cup in hot bath will relieve stress, relax the muscles, decrease pain and rejuvenate you.

The Apple Cider Vinegar trick

A few years ago, a friend told me that if you take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar each day it will relieve indigestion. I took her advice with a grain of salt because, frankly, that seemed too cheap and simple of a remedy. After all, my indigestion was really bad and at that time I was taking 2 Nexium a day which were costing me $1 each. Then recently my son blurted out at dinner one night. “You know I’ve been taking a drink with apple cider vinegar, lemon, and honey each money and my stomach problems have completely gone away.”

That got my attention, because I knew he had always struggled with stomach issues. So I tried it starting the next day and my indigestion and stomach pains went away almost immediately. Now I’m a faithful drinker of the solution each morning as well.

I was reluctant to try these remedies because they seemed too simple and too cheap – just too easy! Even the experts disagree on if they really work or not and how. But they are currently working for me so I’ll keep bathing and drinking while the experts continue to debate the issue.

What’s that got to do with salvation?

I think sometimes our spiritual life is that way. Jesus said “Whosoever will” come to me and I will give him eternal life. What? Give freely? It seems too easy. Surely we must do more than that! There’s got to be a high price to pay for forgiveness of our sins and getting to spend eternity in heaven. Well, there is … and Jesus has already paid it on the cross!

Just because it’s simple and free doesn’t mean it’s not true.

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17