In a recent message from Luke 1, Robert (our Youth Pastor) shared about contentment from these verses:
Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. 11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth – Luke 1:6-14
Zechariah & Elizabeth were credited as being righteous in Gods eyes, yet their desire for a child and their prayers to that effect had gone unanswered for many years, until they were, humanly speaking, too old to concieve. We can safely assume that they had subsequently laid this issue, this desire, down before God. It’s unlikely that Zachariah was praying for a son at the exact moment that the angel appeared. Yet, God had not forgotten that desire. He, in his soverignty, knew the perfect timing for Elizabeth to have a son needed to line up with the arrival of the Messiah.
Simularly we often have desires that we feel are unfulfilled. Perhaps we can learn from Zechariah and Elizabeth’s approach. We must lay our desires, no matter how Godly or good we feel that they are, at the feet of our heavenly Father and trust that He knows what is best for us. It may be that one day He grants us this desire, or it may be that in years to come we will see how that desire, if fulfulled, would have been really bad for us.
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth – 1 Timothy 6:6
May we recieve the strength, by God’s spirit, to learn and practice Godly contentment with out lot in life, in the full knowledge that God is good and we can trust Him completely