Living between two livelihoods is a challenge. I finished as pastor of one church in August, and am now preparing/waiting to be pastor at another. Living between two residences is difficult. We sold our house in June and now are living in a temporary place.
Being content is more than just a challenge; it is a command from God: “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have…” (Hebrews 13:5)
Living in a culture that measures success, well-being, and significance by the accumulation of things and the achievement of personal goals is practically inescapable. We find we are never quite where we want to be. It is always just a little more.
The writer of Hebrews 13:5 explains how contentment is possible: “for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” He could be content wherever and with whatever because he had the Lord.
David says the same thing in Psalm 16:5-6: “Lord, You are my portion and my cup [of blessing]; You hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” He is using Old Testament Promised Land language. But he has elevated it to eternal benefits experienced in the present.
To truly be content in and with Jesus Christ is not something I hear discussed very often. That tells me most of us have no idea what this means and therefore we are missing something great and glorious.
How did David get to this? Verse 8 of the psalm gives us a good place to start: “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” He put the Lord ahead of everything in life: everything he wanted, everything he had, and every decision he would make. As a result, he experienced stability, security, significance, and satisfaction found nowhere else.
You know you are getting close to this when you can agree with a verse from the song Be Thou My Vision; “Thou my best thought by day or by night; waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.”
Rick: Thanks for this thoughtful piece this morning. We have experienced the two-household scenario for about 13 years now. Some would probably think, “Oh, what a life. You head off to Texas for four months.” It really is much more than that because of all the logistics involved. We shut down our Missouri home totally, which means winterizing as much as possible, notifying all persons necessary for whatever reason, packing a HUGE amount of goods which we use to bless the Mexicans. Right now the amount of stuff we are taking is beyond belief but we will do our best to get it all packed in our van and a trailer behind. I have been packing since April–not constantly, but frequently enough that I am weary of that job…and I haven’t even begun to pack our personal items.
Saying all of that to be able to say we are content in what we are doing. The benefits of our mission work in south Texas far outweighs the work and uprooting we experience–on this end and the other. It’s always, always a bittersweet time because of family and church friends here. Then it’s the reverse when we leave Texas in the spring, but so eager to get back to the family as we cross the state line in Missouri. 🙂
Didn’t mean to take up so much space. Trust your days are profitable and productive, as well as peaceful with contentment. We share your joy!!
Thank you for sharing Rick. This hits home for me in a lot of ways. Praying for you and Barb!!