There is nothing better than sitting in the rain, especially after a run. Today, God afforded me this pleasure. He filled the clouds with water and then wrung them out upon the earth. He sent a breeze that was slightly cooler than the air that had been still all day. A breath of air floated across my skin wet with drops of rain and sweat. The wind and water did not cause me to be chilled, but relaxed me into a dreamy state of consciousness. Jazz in my ears and God in my mind…
John Piper will forever go down in history for his statement, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” A summer void of classroom work and a twenty hour a week job has left me with the feeling of stretched hours and even minutes. I have been reading and writing and studying the Scriptures. With much time to reflect, I have found myself reviewing the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in my life. And while I have just this past week finally penned my own salvation history, my review has been more focused on recent victories, namely contentment.
Being content to me has always conjured the feeling of ho-hum-ness. However, as I continue to view all things through the lens of Scripture I have found contentment to run much deeper. Contentment in Christ is being satisfied, peaceful, joyful, grateful, and humble. It is not worried or fearful. It is not lonely, but full. Contentment does not cancel desire for good things but it arrests the idolatry that can grow out of desires.
For the past two years I have actively been pursuing contentment and satisfaction in Christ alone. During this quest I have put a fine point on certain biblical truths as I have applied them successfully to my life. The result, friend, is that I am becoming more and more satisfied in the Savior. Taking pleasure in Christ; desiring Him above all things is a transforming task. It is not a task you can do yourself, but is one spurred along and accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a task that demands you take every thought captive and MAKE it obedient to Christ. Consider for a moment 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
How then are you to MAKE your thoughts obedient to Christ? You must first have knowledge of God. Where do you find knowledge of God? In God’s self revelation; namely the Bible. A true follower of Christ- that is to say one of the assurances a true believer will posses is the thirst to study the Scriptures. Why? Because a person who has been saved by the blood of Christ is sealed with the Holy Spirit (And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14), who bears witness to Christ, who brings conviction, and who illuminates the meaning of Scripture (“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” – John 14:26, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me” – John 15:26).
Does it make sense that the One who testifies to Christ can sit dormant on the heart of a human? No! The Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of the children of God (But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth – 2 Thessalonians 2:13). God promised the Holy Spirit to the Son once His (Christ’s) work was accomplished on earth. Christ is the primary recipient of the Holy Spirit! Once Christ received the promised Holy Spirit, He then, out of His love for us, poured out the Holy Spirit (God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear – Acts 2:32-33) to minister to His brothers and sisters, His co-heirs to the kingdom of God, by teaching them, convicting them, and testifying Christ to them (For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory – Romans 8:15-17). The Holy Spirit is not a quiescent being; He is active! The only way to imitate Christ is to know Christ (Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God – Ephesians 5:1-2). The only way to know Christ is by reading the Bible (Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God,” – Matthew 22:29; And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself – Luke 24:27).
Christ was most satisfied in the Father. His will was that of the Father’s will.(Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – Matthew 6:9-10; “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” – Luke 22:42). Christ did not act on His own accord, but sought the will of the Father. Christ did this perfectly, so that He could say to the disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him,” (John 14:6-7).
You must keep in mind that God is a God (Himself) glorifier; He most certainly is not a man glorifier. God did not need to make man; He was not lonely. He made man to enjoy His presence. Man was made in the very image of the triune God (Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them – Genesis 1:26-27). God, knowing the fall would happen, made man anyway with a plan for redemption already set. (And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he [the Messiah] will crush your head, and you will strike his heel – Genesis 3:15). Knowing that we would be God-haters (They [speaking of mankind] have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless – Romans 1:29-31), He created us anyway. He created us and purchased us at the most costly price ever known (“You [Christ] are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” – Revelation 5:9). Christ laid his life down and took on the weight of the sins of the world, so that man could be redeemed (This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us – 1 John 3:16)!
Christian…how does this not satisfy you? How do you not give God praise and honor? How do you not believe in His promises that are held in His own writing? How do you find fault in the One who loves you perfectly?
The question to myself, “How can I not find contentment in Christ?”
Upon reflection…pride. It is pride that keeps my satisfaction at bay. Pride quenches the Spirit. Taking each thought captive, means I must search my motives, I must examine my heart, and I must view each thought through the lens of Scripture. Making each captive thought obedient to Christ, means I must conform it Christ. How? By dying to selfish motives and attitudes of my heart, mind, and soul. By putting on the armor of God everyday. By keeping a clean heart. By desiring to rid myself of pride. By putting off the old man and putting on the things of Christ. “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things,” (Philippians 4:8).
Sweet sibling, ask God in prayer to help you become most satisfied in God. All glory is due to God. Giving Him what He is owed will make you content, not in a ho-hum manner, but in a manner that will fill you with praise! His plan for you is that you glorify Him. Glorifying God will not harm you, but will prosper you. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
No comments:
Post a Comment