Tag Archives: contentment

The Fruit of the Spirit is: Joy

Posted on May 7, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ~Galatians 5:22-23

Happy Monday, friends! Today I am continuing the Fruit of the Spirit Series, and focusing on joy. Throughout the Bible there are many verses that speak of having joy. However, being joyful is not always easy. Of course when things are going great it is easy to rejoice, but when circumstances are not what you want them to be that command can be hard to obey.

Philippians 4:4 states, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. Note, that this verse does not tell us to only be joyful in the good times but to be joyful always no matter what comes our way. All of us have been through seasons where certain struggles tempt us to be less joyful than others. In my own life recently I have had some health problems, and some days I do not feel like having joy in the midst of them. Other examples could be struggling to find joy in your singleness, the mundane of your job, your marriage, etc. Thankfully, we have the word of God that leads, guides, and helps us to find the joy of Christ each and every day in these and any other situations we may face.

An excellent example in Scripture of a person who displayed joy in good times and in difficult ones was Paul. Paul experienced many hardships and sufferings while following Christ, and Scripture tells us that he dealt with a “thorn in the flesh,” but through it all he remained joyful. Paul tells the secret to this joy and contentment in a letter he wrote to the church of Philippi. Philippians 4:11-13 states, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether fed or hungry, whether in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” With Christ, we can endure anything because of His strength that promises to sustain us through whatever comes.

No matter what is going on in and around you, you can still have joy even in the worst of times. That is when Christ can shine the most. It is easy to get caught up in what we want, and be selfish. It is also easy to think that a joyful life is defined by a series of good moments and fulfilled desires. However, life is really defined by the work Jesus Christ is doing in you, and how He allows the “not so good moments” to mature you.

I want to encourage you today to not let your circumstances steal your joy. Be thankful for what God has given you. Spend time reading His word daily and ask him to give you His never-ending joy, and follow His command to rejoice always!  If you do this, the weight of your worries will lessen, and life will suddenly seem brighter. Be encouraged that in his presence their is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), and remember that God works out ALL things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I am praying for you today as you put into practice this fruit of the spirit and embrace the joy Christ has for you. I ask that you pray the same for me.

                                                                                             Amelia McNeilly

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Archive April: Single and Content

Posted on April 7, 2013 by | Leave a comment

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Originally Posted on: March 11, 2013

For years, no, my entire non-child life, I have been challenged by what it means to be “content” in my singleness. You see, I haven’t just been single here and there between boyfriends; I’ve been single for…well, my entire life. The only relationship I’ve ever had wasn’t what God wanted for me so it was a disaster and shouldn’t have come to be in the first place.  “Single” isn’t just a term I throw out there to describe my status in-between boyfriends. Singleness has been my life. It’s very real to me. It’s not just a fleeting season. And so, the topic of being content in my singleness has been one I’ve gone round and round and round with.

God has ordained my life to include singleness. While, I’ve had those times where I blamed the cause of my singleness on anything and everything pertaining to my appearance, personality and faith, maturity has taught me there is no definitive “cause” of singleness in one’s life. There is only God and His ways. Who am I to challenge them? Whether for just now, or for the rest of my life, singleness is His way in my life and God simply asks me to worship Him. To worship Him means to choose Him as my God and worship Him above all things and in all seasons. Because I believe this and have set my life in line with this truth, I embrace that when 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” this includes my singleness. Thus, there is a way to live in my singleness to the glory of God. There is a way to bring my desires and my unmet dreams regarding love, a husband and children under the authority of Christ.

In my studies and time with the Lord over this topic, I have come to understand that bringing glory to God in my singleness most simply means embracing what God has given me and offering Him worship and obedience in it. We are able to do this because God is sufficient. And, because He is sufficient, he has given us exactly what and all that we need. Now, I know what you’re thinking: the needs of singleness are to not be single. How then, are one’s needs being met in singleness if they are still single?

Turning to the Word of God to answer this, the scriptures make it very clear that our deepest need is to be in right relationship with God. So, even in the midst of singleness, our need is not for our singleness to be met but for our need for God to be met. The good news here is that God freely and abundantly gives of Himself, and because of the work of Christ on the cross, we can freely and abundantly receive Him. Psalm 73:25-26 says it this way: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” God is our portion, our satisfaction. We don’t have to look to this world or to a man to satisfy our singleness; we merely have to look to God and worship Him as our portion, our fill, our sufficiency even in our singleness. Because He is El Shaddai, we can be satisfied in His sufficiency even if our lives and our dreams don’t feel sufficiently satisfied.

Single lady friends, I just want to encourage you today that it’s not about becoming content in your singleness; it’s about becoming content with God in your singleness and trusting Him with the rest. In the greatness of His sufficiency, we are fully satisfied. In the completeness of his sufficiency, we are content. Contentment is not a great mystery to figure out; contentment is choosing to worship God because He alone is enough.

Amanda Schulze

Amanda is a 20-something living in Virginia. She is a committed follower of Jesus Christ who seeks daily to live a life of worship and obedience in order to give God glory in all things (1 Cor. 10:31). She loves the Bible, theology and commentaries and has a B.S. in Psychology and a M.Div. in Biblical Counseling. She currently works for a large private Christian university and serves as a Lay Counselor with her church’s counseling ministry. She is passionate about teaching and equipping women to love on and live in God’s Word. She also loves photography, leading worship, traveling, and spending time with her wonderful family, friends and precious dog, Chaps. www.despitethat.wordpress.com

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Archive April: Praying For Your Future Husband

Posted on April 6, 2013 by | 1 Comment

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Originally Posted on: April 16, 2012

Proverbs 31:12  states that a wife of noble character is to bring her husband “good not harm all the days of her life.” This verse does not only apply to women who have already met their spouses, but to single women as well. We should be living our life in a way that ultimately glorifies the Lord, and also in a way that would be faithful to a future husband. One way to live this out is by praying for your future husband even before you meet him.

Several years ago I was reminded of the power of prayer in this area after hearing a friend’s testimony.  She shared that one night she woke up at 3am and felt the Lord telling her to pray for her future husband. She spent the remainder of the night in prayer because she knew he was in trouble.  She continued to pray for him daily after that.  A year later, when she was getting to know the man who now is her husband, he told her that he was involved in a car accident that almost took his life.  As he told her the details of how it happened, it was exactly the date and time that the Lord woke her up to pray.  When I heard this story I was reminded that God values and honors our prayers for a husband even when we cannot see what He is doing.

Recently, I read a book  titled “Praying For Your Future Husband,” by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer.  In this, the authors share Biblical encouragement and wisdom on how to pray for your husband and prepare your heart for his.  It also gives ways to pray for your sisters in Christ. I would like to share some of these, and I encourage you to spend some time this week in prayer for your future husband as well as your fellow sisters as we are trying to be the women God has called us to be.

  • Pray for his Heart - Pray that your future husband will give his heart to Jesus Christ. Pray that he will trust the Lord each day to get him through whatever life may bring, and for his thoughts and actions to reflect the love of Christ.   Pray these things also for yourself and your friends.
  • Pray for Strength - Pray that your future husband will have inner-spiritual strength and that the Lord will give him strength to fight temptations and difficulties.  Pray that the Lord will mold him into the leader he needs to be. Also, pray the same things for yourself and your friends. Pray that God will give you strength in areas where you are weakest and allow His strength to make you strong.
  • Pray for Loyalty and Faithfulness - Pray that your future husband will be faithful to the Lord in every area of his life.  Pray also that he is loyal to the friendships that God has already given him, and pray that he is already faithful to you.  Pray these things for yourself and your friends.
  • Pray for Protection - Pray that your future husband will be protected from the evil one.  Pray that he puts on the armor of God each day and for the Lord to help him fight not only the outward sources that try to bring him down but also the sin nature inside.  Also, pray the same protection each day for yourself and your friends.
  •  Pray for Contentment - Pray that your future husband will be content, and have patience as he waits for God to lead him to you.  Pray that his heart will not be hardened during this time, but instead that he grow closer in his relationship with Christ. Pray that he spends his time focusing on serving Christ and others, and not dwelling on being single.  Pray that Christ alone will always be enough.  Pray for the same contentment for yourself and your friends.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Amelia McNeilly

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Single & Content

Posted on March 11, 2013 by | 1 Comment

For years, no, my entire non-child life, I have been challenged by what it means to be “content” in my singleness. You see, I haven’t just been single here and there between boyfriends; I’ve been single for…well, my entire life. The only relationship I’ve ever had wasn’t what God wanted for me so it was a disaster and shouldn’t have come to be in the first place.  “Single” isn’t just a term I throw out there to describe my status in-between boyfriends. Singleness has been my life. It’s very real to me. It’s not just a fleeting season. And so, the topic of being content in my singleness has been one I’ve gone round and round and round with.

God has ordained my life to include singleness. While, I’ve had those times where I blamed the cause of my singleness on anything and everything pertaining to my appearance, personality and faith, maturity has taught me there is no definitive “cause” of singleness in one’s life. There is only God and His ways. Who am I to challenge them? Whether for just now, or for the rest of my life, singleness is His way in my life and God simply asks me to worship Him. To worship Him means to choose Him as my God and worship Him above all things and in all seasons. Because I believe this and have set my life in line with this truth, I embrace that when 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” this includes my singleness. Thus, there is a way to live in my singleness to the glory of God. There is a way to bring my desires and my unmet dreams regarding love, a husband and children under the authority of Christ.

In my studies and time with the Lord over this topic, I have come to understand that bringing glory to God in my singleness most simply means embracing what God has given me and offering Him worship and obedience in it. We are able to do this because God is sufficient. And, because He is sufficient, he has given us exactly what and all that we need. Now, I know what you’re thinking: the needs of singleness are to not be single. How then, are one’s needs being met in singleness if they are still single?

Turning to the Word of God to answer this, the scriptures make it very clear that our deepest need is to be in right relationship with God. So, even in the midst of singleness, our need is not for our singleness to be met but for our need for God to be met. The good news here is that God freely and abundantly gives of Himself, and because of the work of Christ on the cross, we can freely and abundantly receive Him. Psalm 73:25-26 says it this way: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” God is our portion, our satisfaction. We don’t have to look to this world or to a man to satisfy our singleness; we merely have to look to God and worship Him as our portion, our fill, our sufficiency even in our singleness. Because He is El Shaddai, we can be satisfied in His sufficiency even if our lives and our dreams don’t feel sufficiently satisfied.

Single lady friends, I just want to encourage you today that it’s not about becoming content in your singleness; it’s about becoming content with God in your singleness and trusting Him with the rest. In the greatness of His sufficiency, we are fully satisfied. In the completeness of his sufficiency, we are content. Contentment is not a great mystery to figure out; contentment is choosing to worship God because He alone is enough.

Amanda Schulze

Amanda is a 20-something living in Virginia. She is a committed follower of Jesus Christ who seeks daily to live a life of worship and obedience in order to give God glory in all things (1 Cor. 10:31). She loves the Bible, theology and commentaries and has a B.S. in Psychology and a M.Div. in Biblical Counseling. She currently works for a large private Christian university and serves as a Lay Counselor with her church’s counseling ministry. She is passionate about teaching and equipping women to love on and live in God’s Word. She also loves photography, leading worship, traveling, and spending time with her wonderful family, friends and precious dog, Chaps. www.despitethat.wordpress.com

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Who/What is your Ultimate?

Posted on November 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Contentment. This has been the theme that the Lord is working out in me over the past weeks, months, years of my life. At times, contentment is so hard for me. What I have been reminded of through the awesomeness of Kelly Minter’s study, No Other Gods is that sometimes discontent is a direct result of jealousy and bitterness.  I agree with Kelly in that, “I’m not sure I hate any feeling more than when I’ve overcome with jealousy.”  It’s a cycle that I often see in my life, I start to compare myself to those around me, which leads to jealousy, which makes me discontent with who I am and where God has me.

The story of Leah, Rachel and Jacob is one that screams jealousy and discontent. If you haven’t read that story take some time to do so in Genesis 29 and 30. I will try my best to summarize it for you. Jacob loved Rachel and Rachel was beautiful. Jacob worked 7 years in order to marry Rachel.  But instead of Rachel, Laban (Rachel’s dad) gave Jacob Leah, who was the older sister. Jacob still desired Rachel and did not love Leah,  so he agreed to work another 7 years in order to make Rachel his wife (this shows how much Jacob loved Rachel). As any woman can imagine this type of relationship was hard. Leah knew Jacob loved Rachel more and tried her hardest to make him pay her some sort of attention. Rachel on the other hand, had the love of Jacob but was not able to have children. However, Leah could have children. You can only imagine the jealousy that took place. Leah was jealous of Rachel because Jacob loved her and she was beautiful. Rachel was jealous of Leah because Leah was able to have children. Rachel’s jealousy led her to tell her maidservant to sleep with Jacob in order to provide offspring. Leah’s jealousy led her to barter for a night with her husand in hopes that she would feel loved. The story goes back and forth until the Lord decides to open the womb of Rachel and she has a son named Joseph. At this point, you think, Rachel is going to offer praise to the Lord, she finally has everything she ever longed for (exclusive love of her husband, son she always hoped for and beauty) however we read in Gen. 31:32-35 that this still didn’t satisfy her, as she was stealing household gods and hiding them in her pockets. Rachel was not content, even though she achieved what she thought would make her content.

This amazes me but also reasonates with my soul. I too have been like Rachel, saying to myself when I get ___________ or when I am _________, then I will be happy and content. And at times, like Rachel I did achieve those things I thought would make me happy and they did for a period of time. But those things, those people, they never have and never will satisfy my soul forever like the love and relationship of my Savior.  Because those things are fleeting and those people will dissapoint. It may sound cliche and simple, but the Lord is whispering in my ear daily, “But Holli my love for you will never fade away and I will never dissapoint.” Now there have been plenty of times in my life that I have been disappointed but like Kelly Minter said, “Yet when you encounter Him and begin to take Him at His words through obedience, His name doesn’t mean easy answers but power and love and life sustaining freedom.”

Another truth that Kelly stated (ya’ll you have to read her studies!) that I wanted to share is, “The point is that it doesn’t matter if you have it all and get everything your heart desires, or if you are left wanting and unloved. Neither works. The two women had vastly differnt circumstances, yet both were left hungy. Why? Because God was not their ultimate. Good things like husbands and children and social status were the ultimate things, and in the end they were not enough.”

they. were. not. enough. Jesus is enough! I have been challenged to dig deep and ask the Lord to reveal to me those things in my life that I am making the “ultimate” over Him (some may be good things even). I pray that I get those “idols” out of my life so I can  be content in the only One who will truly satisfy, by making Him The Ultimate in every aspect of  my life.

Holli Howard

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Happy in the Lord

Posted on June 13, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Happy Wednesday, my friends! I  pray that your week is going well so far, and would like to share with you one of my favorite quotes that I have been challenged by lately.  George Mueller states,

“I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.”

Recently, I have not been content in certain areas, and the Lord revealed to me that I have been doing everything but spending time with Him. It is so easy to get busy with life and ministry and neglect spending time with the Lord.  However, that should be our most important priority before anything else.  True contentment and peace comes from spending time with Jesus, and as Mueller states, nourishing your inner man.  No matter what you’re discontent in, whether it be your singleness, job, or something else, you can find true joy and happiness by giving your time to Jesus. I do not know what you are struggling with today, but make it a priority to take some time and make your soul ”happy in the Lord.”

Amelia McNeilly

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Delight in the Lord

Posted on May 28, 2012 by | 2 Comments

One of my favorite verses in the Psalms is Psalm 37:4, which states, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Many think this means that God will give them what they personally desire. However, what the verse really means is that when we seek the Lord and make Him our everything, He will give us His desires.

Although, if we are honest, that is not what we like to hear at times.  We think  God should give us what we want, at the time that we want it. We want God to send us our future spouse now, get the job we want now, or to be healed of a sickness now. None of those examples are bad desires, and are God given ones, but where we so often miss the mark is when we put those desires before our desire for Jesus Christ.

As I was reading this verse the other day I was convicted that I too often get wrapped up in what I want instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus and simply asking, “What do you want from me today Lord, show me your desires.” It’s a choice we have to make daily. Are we going to delight in the Lord and seek His face because we love what He loves, or are we going to continue to dwell on our wants?

God wants the best for His children and He doesn’t want to withhold any good thing from us (Psalm 84:11).  However, He wants us to seek Him first and trust Him to do what He thinks is best. When we do that our desires will be His, and only then will we truly be content. Who are you delighting in today? Yourself or Jesus? Spend some time with the Savior and ask, “What do you want for me Jesus?”

Amelia McNeilly

Photo taken from Pinterest.

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Praying For Your Future Husband

Posted on April 16, 2012 by | 12 Comments

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Proverbs 31:12  states that a wife of noble character is to bring her husband “good not harm all the days of her life.” This verse does not only apply to women who have already met their spouses, but to single women as well. We should be living our life in a way that ultimately glorifies the Lord, and also in a way that would be faithful to a future husband. One way to live this out is by praying for your future husband even before you meet him.

Several years ago I was reminded of the power of prayer in this area after hearing a friend’s testimony.  She shared that one night she woke up at 3am and felt the Lord telling her to pray for her future husband. She spent the remainder of the night in prayer because she knew he was in trouble.  She continued to pray for him daily after that.  A year later, when she was getting to know the man who now is her husband, he told her that he was involved in a car accident that almost took his life.  As he told her the details of how it happened, it was exactly the date and time that the Lord woke her up to pray.  When I heard this story I was reminded that God values and honors our prayers for a husband even when we cannot see what He is doing.

Recently, I read a book  titled “Praying For Your Future Husband,” by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer.  In this, the authors share Biblical encouragement and wisdom on how to pray for your husband and prepare your heart for his.  It also gives ways to pray for your sisters in Christ. I would like to share some of these, and I encourage you to spend some time this week in prayer for your future husband as well as your fellow sisters as we are trying to be the women God has called us to be.

  • Pray for his Heart - Pray that your future husband will give his heart to Jesus Christ. Pray that he will trust the Lord each day to get him through whatever life may bring, and for his thoughts and actions to reflect the love of Christ.   Pray these things also for yourself and your friends.
  • Pray for Strength - Pray that your future husband will have inner-spiritual strength and that the Lord will give him strength to fight temptations and difficulties.  Pray that the Lord will mold him into the leader he needs to be. Also, pray the same things for yourself and your friends. Pray that God will give you strength in areas where you are weakest and allow His strength to make you strong.
  • Pray for Loyalty and Faithfulness - Pray that your future husband will be faithful to the Lord in every area of his life.  Pray also that he is loyal to the friendships that God has already given him, and pray that he is already faithful to you.  Pray these things for yourself and your friends.
  • Pray for Protection - Pray that your future husband will be protected from the evil one.  Pray that he puts on the armor of God each day and for the Lord to help him fight not only the outward sources that try to bring him down but also the sin nature inside.  Also, pray the same protection each day for yourself and your friends.
  •  Pray for Contentment - Pray that your future husband will be content, and have patience as he waits for God to lead him to you.  Pray that his heart will not be hardened during this time, but instead that he grow closer in his relationship with Christ. Pray that he spends his time focusing on serving Christ and others, and not dwelling on being single.  Pray that Christ alone will always be enough.  Pray for the same contentment for yourself and your friends.

Amelia McNeilly

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