Where to Find Contentedness
Wander around, my love. Wander around in my love. You will find me there–and with it, all the answers to every question you ask and all the answers to every question you don’t yet know. Let Me bring forth in you the riches of life that come from surrender. I will help you be content with Me.
What does it mean to be content with God–and with God’s love? What do we know of God’s love? How do we choose it, find it, experience it? And what does God’s love teach us about contentment?
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Make your way to a comfortable place to sit. Take a deep breath. Then another. Relax your hands–maybe rotate your wrists a few times. Then maybe gently, slowly, lean back your head for a moment and close your eyes, taking a deep breath in….out…..Then raise your arms above your head and gradually stretch the muscles in your shoulders, arms, back, and neck…One more deep breath in….out….
Now, take a moment and consecrate your mind, your thoughts, your expectations to God. Do it slowly, deliberately. Feel the words you are saying to him now. Slow down. Breathe. Center your attention here:
Father, I consecrate my mind to You. I give you my thoughts. I give You my expectations. I give You my ideas, my feelings about this moment, my hopes for this day. I give You my will. I give You my fears. I surrender everyone I care about to You. I surrender everything I care about to You. I love You. I love You.
Take another deep breath. Remember that He is in you now. Your God lives inside you.
Holy Spirit, direct my thoughts now; capture my heart. Help me to draw inward to engage with You, where You live, inside of me.
Now, with your journal open, write down a sentence or two that describes how you would define contentedness. After you have done that, work with God to make a quick list of things you know about love and being content. What does contentment look like in your life? Be practical. And then, try to make a list of things where you might struggle with contentment. Maybe spend no more than 5-8 minutes on this.
Jesus, these are the areas in which I feel love and experience contentment with my life…….
Jesus, these are the ways I realize I think I struggle with contentment….
Next, contemplate Psalm 84. Let yourself linger over the verses, inviting your heart and mind to open, listening to what God is speaking just to you.
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield,O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Return to each verse, reading each line again. And then…speak or sing the Psalm aloud. Feel your lungs fill with air and your lips form the pronunciation of each word.
Next, focus on a stanza that your heart is particularly drawn to. Close your eyes and give to God your imagination. Ask Him for a picture in your mind of the two of you together. See yourself praising Him in worship. As you spend this time with Him, begin a conversation with HIm about the topic of contentment. What has He shown you about contentment in Psalm 84?
Jesus, You show me…
Linger here. Don’t rush to the next thing. Stay here…. Pause. Take some deep breaths. In….Out….
Inhale: “Because You love me.”
Exhale: “Jesus, I am content.”
Stay here, with Jesus, for as long as you want. Perhaps remain just as you are, with your eyes closed, spending these lingering moments with Jesus, being filled with His love.
Another option is to explore together with God these two poems: “The Real Work,” by Wendell Berry and “Aimless Love,” by Billy Collins. How do you approach these poems through the gaze of Jesus’ love for you? How might love–and being loved–relate to one’s feelings of being content?
Spend time with Jesus, letting Him guide you…..
Lord, help me to follow where you are leading my heart now…..
Amen.
Worship Ideas:
“If I Was A Bird,” Mission House
“Because of Christ,” The Belonging Co., Mitch Wong
“Psalm 84,” Shane & Shane