Heavenly Harmony

Most of us are far from being naturally content people. We want to know the future, and we want to know it now.  The uncertainties of life have a way of agitating the discontented and impatient soul, leaving little peace and much disquietude.  In such a state, it is well-nigh impossible to have heavenly harmony.  Our desires tug in one direction and our Lord the other.  He calls us to rest, peace, trust, faith – the very things that go against the grain of our natural tendencies as faithless, fickle human beings.   Furthermore, His is not only a call, but also a command to all that follow Him.

As I started climbing from mid-teens toward upper teens, I became consciously aware of a war within me.  I desperately wanted to be content in the will of God, but at the same time, my desires over my future were tugging tumultuously in another direction, clamoring to be heard, in vain hopes that my desires would then somehow be fulfilled.

Ultimately, however, over my own will and desires, I wanted to be completely satisfied in the will of God.  He knew this desire and did a work in me over a period of about two (possibly three) years, in which I struggled intensely with this issue.  Often we don’t understand ourselves, or comprehend why we struggle in certain areas—but the Lord always does.  He can look down straight into our heart and point to things we might not have even recognized up until then.  In my life there were idols – idols I hadn’t even recognized as being such – and as with all idols, they needed to be torn down.  There was a stubbornness of wanting my own way that had to be purged out.  I needed a greater love for Him that produced a willingness to accept His way, and trust that He wanted my very best.  Countless other things had to be purged out of me—many of them were taken out by way of fiery trials, and through the Word and His Spirit convicting my heart and showing me my need for contentment.  His faithfulness led me to a wealthy place where my desires were stilled and gladly subjected to the will of God.

I am resting in His love which He so generously bestows and which satisfies so completely.  Based upon my own experiences and the lessons He has taught me through this process, I want to share with you.

Contentment is like a large pool into which water trickles from all sides. These trickles are places where the enemy of our souls can easily take advantage, thereby hindering our progress toward attaining contentment in the will of God.  Through each channel water trickles into our “pool of life,” either contaminating or purifying it.  I believe there are three areas in which our pool of contentment is easily contaminated, yet God has made provision for us to have clean pools.

To the faithless, Jesus encourages, “Have faith in God. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”¹

Common words of the faithless are: “This will never happen!”  “How will it ever come to pass?”  “But it seems so unlikely!”  There are many other phrases that quickly identify a “faithless person”.  Are you one, dear reader?  Do you doubt the Maker of the Universe – perhaps not in obvious but in subtle ways?  Do you question His plans or His way for you?  Do you find yourself perpetually discouraged?  Don’t despair; there is hope!

The faithless generally rely on feelings rather than fact (see which words are emphasized above); therefore, when something seems to go all wrong, or they can’t physically see how it will work out, they believe it must be to no purpose, instead of implicitly trusting in His promises.

I am thinking largely in connection with our futures.  With training for Biblical womanhood all behind us, many a young lady’s contentment is challenged – especially in the years after graduation, when the next step isn’t yet in view.

As one who has been there, I would simply like to encourage you to have faith that God has your future in His hands.  He has a plan for your life (see Jer. 29:11), and is even at this time preparing, shaping, and refining you for the next step.

Faith is an active choice on our part.  When we doubt, we choose to doubt and not trust the Lord.  The Bible says of the people of Nazareth: “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” ²  Likewise, the Lord will not be able to fully do His work in you while there remain any seeds of doubt.

In overcoming your faithless-ness, you must learn to accept and comprehend His love for you.  Yes, the same love that drove Jesus to the cross to die for the sins of this world wants your very best in life.  When you start on a train of doubting, ask yourself, “Is this fact or feeling?”  “Are these thoughts in line with God’s character and promises, or are my feelings talking?”

Above all, trust Him, and take the shield of faith.  For in so doing, contentment will settle in on your soul because you’ll be trusting that “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” ³

To the anxious, the Son of God (who was tempted like as we are, yet without sin) whispers, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” ⁴

One definition of an anxious person is one who is “eagerly wishing.”   Wishing for what?  Such exclamations could be heard from them: “When is this going to happen?  This is taking forever!”  “Why do I have to wait so long?”  “It feels like nothing is happening in my life.”  “I want to know!”

Characteristically, they’re very similar to “the faithless” – but they typically have a touch of impatience.  If you are one, you think everything progresses too slowly and wish life could speed up a bit.  You have a hard time sitting still and waiting for the Lord to work.  It is a temptation to want to take life into your own hands and work out everything.

This is a good opportunity to tell on myself.   Before the Lord brought me to a place of rest within His love, it was the time of life when young ladies start preparing and thinking about the future.  I was anxious to get married (though I didn’t classify it as anxiousness at the time) and whenever our family would meet another new family who had young men near my age, I would inadvertently think, “Will he be the one?”  This never led to any emotional infatuations, never even went beyond that first question, but the questioning, wondering, and considering wasn’t my place.  I needed to commit that all into my Heavenly Father’s hands.

In order to have contentment in the soul, sisters, the anxious thoughts need to be taken captive – caged up – and given to the Lord.  He knows how much you can bear with His grace (1 Cor. 10:13), and is fully aware of your desires.  Have you ever considered that time is needed for His work to be accomplished in your own heart before you can handle the next step?  He is working out His purpose, carrying out His plans, even now – while it seems like life is at a standstill.  Roll the load, the planning, the anxiousness and impatience all upon the Lord.  Content yourself in Him.  Impatience will not help anything; in fact, it will only increase your own agony.

The relationship between the Father and us is like unto the relationship between the General of an Army and a soldier.  The General, the head of the whole army, makes painstaking plans to overcome the enemy.  He gives orders to those under him, and if they are not carried out as he commanded, the result can be defeat.  Those under the General do not ask questions – they simply trust, obey, and follow orders.

Likewise, our relationship with the Father is not one in which He gives us all the details of what is going to happen and when.  He leads us one step at a time and expects us to simply trust, obey, and follow Him as He leads.  Leave off the anxiousness. The Lord wants to establish and satisfy you in Himself and teach you to trust in Him with all your heart.  His yoke is easy, His burden is light.  Will you bear your own, or take His upon you?

To the covetous, He instructs, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” ⁵

One can easily recognize a covetous person by such phrases: “I wish I had it that way!”  “I really want it to be this way!”  “I don’t think I could stand it if it weren’t this way.”

Several years ago, my Nana died of cancer.  Though the disease started in only one part of the body, by the time she died (6 months after the diagnosis), the cancer had rapidly spread throughout her body.  Covetousness (discontentment with what one has or desiring what one cannot have) is a spiritual cancer.  It embitters the soul and makes it so one cannot see all the beauty around them.  And if you allow even a little bit of discontent to grow, it will spread to all parts of your being and eventually kill your soul.

Contentment, on the other hand, gives health and life.  It beautifies the soul and gives radiance to the countenance.  Contentment not only strengthens one’s relationship with the Lord, it bubbles over into all areas of one’s life: conversation, attitude, outlook, and relationships.  It is no great wonder that Paul said to Timothy, godliness with contentment is great gain! (see 1 Tim. 6:6)  It is a pearl of great price, something we cannot afford to go through life without.

Everything we really need, not want, we have in Him.  Doesn’t He promise to supply all our needs? (see Phil. 4:19)  Has His promise of grace sufficient ever failed us? (see 2 Cor. 12:9)  No, our God is a faithful God and He has never failed us yet.  Therefore, we have no room to allow discontentment to seep in.

Have you read the book Pollyanna?⁶  Though somewhat controversial, there are many excellent lessons to be learned from it.  The book touched me because it helped me to see life simplified through the eyes of a child.  The little girl, Pollyanna, learned to look on the bright side of life.  Through many disappointments in life she played “The Glad Game,” which enabled her to be thankful for the things the Lord had given her instead of coveting that which she didn’t have.  What a lesson for us!   May we learn to praise the Lord for all the bounteous blessings He has graciously bestowed on us, instead of desiring more.  For “better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.”⁷

Do you remember when God commanded Moses to make a “fiery serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole”that if any were bitten by a snake, they could simply look at the serpent and be healed? ⁸  The Lord used this physical object to heal faithless, erring people of the plague He had sent as a judgment because their hearts had strayed from Him.  But instead of looking to Him who worked through the physical object, they worshipped the serpent of brass.  King Hezekiah later cast down the idol (see 2 Kings 18:4).

This is what many of us young ladies do with marriage.  What the Lord plans and uses to point us to Him, we erect as an idol in our hearts, quite innocently at first – without hardly realizing we did so – until we worship the idol so continuously that our love for the Lord comes second place.

“But why is desiring marriage wrong?” someone asks.  There is nothing wrong with marriage.  Indeed, a godly marriage, put together by the Lord Himself, is precious and pleasing in His sight.  And the desire to be married is not wrong, but it must not become an idol.  In submitting to Him and growing in contentment, the Lord will not likely bring you to a place where you abhor the thought of marriage, rather, He will bring you to a place where all that matters is doing His will – be that marriage or singleness.  Anxiousness, doubting, and discontentment will die away and all will be blessed because you are content and happy in the center of His will.

Marriage was an idol for me once, but the Lord in His mercy brought me to a crucial breaking point: it was the idol or my Lord and I had to choose which one would have all my allegiance and which one none.  The idol was cast out—destroyed—and the Lord, who blesses all who follow and obey Him, more than filled the void the idol had left.

For those who, like myself, have erected marriage as an idol, I earnestly pray that by the grace of God, you will cast the idol out of your heart.  I pray that the things I have shared will help you find contentment and rest in His love.

We can contaminate our pool, sisters, or we can choose pure water, trickling directly from the Source of all Pureness.  Idols, covetousness, anxiousness, and faithlessness contaminate our pools.  On the other hand, contentment—the direct opposite—will purify and sweeten our pools, making them a refreshment to weary pilgrims in need.

Notes: 1 Mark 11:22, Matt. 19:26,  2 Matt. 13:58, 3 Phil. 1:6, 4 Phil. 4: 6-7, 5 Heb. 13:5, 6 Though Pollyanna’s father was a minister who originally taught Pollyanna to look on the bright side of life, the author doesn’t give much recognition to the strength and grace that comes from the Lord, enabling us to be content in each disappointment and circumstance, 7 Prov. 15:16, 8 See Num. 21:8-9

“Heavenly Harmony” was originally published in the Spring 2001 YLCF Journal, #30. Then, Skye described herself as, “a 19-year-old who loves life.” Her main pursuit in life was “to serve God in an acceptable way.  Interests include writing, reading, people, and music.”