Greener Grass On the Other Side

I've been thinking a lot about the greener grass idea.

Basically because so many of us {me most definitely included} tend to look around, thinking the grass is greener on the other side, that we'd only be happy if we had such-and-such.

And we realize that the reality is far different. If we really think about it, we know better.

The people we think have it so easy, rarely do.

The people we feel sorry for, often actually have the greatest joy and peace.

My friend Sherah recently posted about being content and living in the moment, and it resonated deeply with me. I can't help but read it over and over and over and over.

I desperately need to work on this within my own heart. I want to seek after contentment and joy in all circumstances.

Along those lines, here are a couple of quotes I want to share with you:

True contentment is found in a Person. It’s not found in getting what we want or in having difficulty removed from our lives. Contentment isn’t the result of the absence of pain or the presence of material blessing. It’s found in Jesus Christ. Period. Without Christ we can never be truly content, regardless of the blessings that surround us. And with Christ we can be content in the midst of every circumstance. . . . 

God wants us to experience contentment right now, in the midst of our house projects, depression, bad jobs, and strife. It’s right and good to ask God to deliver us from each of these situations. But we can’t stake our ultimate hope on deliverance because even if we’re delivered from one trial, another will soon come our way. Our ultimate hope is in Jesus and in his place. When we’re in heaven, the battle will be over. Contentment will not be a struggle. Peace, pleasure, and joy will take the day. But until that day we need to fight. Otherwise we’ll find ourselves trying to make a home out of a place that was never intended to be our home. We’ll pour our energy and time and thought into trying to find satisfaction on the earth rather than being content with what we have and looking forward to eternity.

From The Greener Grass Conspiracy, Copyright (c) 2011, Stephen Altrogge, Published by Crossway. Look for it in April. See also my post back in January on this topic. 

What else could you want except to 'serve the purposes of God in your generation'? What better thing could there be in life but to live for God and work for God and then to go be with God forever? This is what real living is all about! {Acts 13:36}

From "Every Day in the Word" calendar, Copyright (c) 2007 Walk in the Word.