A Sin Often Overlooked

I am currently reading Jerry Bridges book called RESPECTABLE SINS (ironic I know) and just got through the chapter on what I believe is a sin that is often overlooked: discontentment...below is a little about what he shared.

As we grow in our knowledge and hatred of sin we begin to see sins that we have overlooked for years because they seem so minute compared to the "heinous" and "outright" sins we used to commit on a daily basis; one of these is discontentment. I believe that the majority of Christians have, do, or will battle this sin throughout their life at some point or another. It is a natural tendency of our flesh to be dissatisfied with our circumstances and situations and wonder why a good and gracious God would allow them. Whether it is in a job or lack there of, a relationship or lack there of, great wealth or lack there of, and the list could go on, the Bible makes it explicitly clear that discontentment is sin and EVERY sin is reproachable in the eyes of our God. What we don't realize is how good everything may be even the smallest things seem to find us in a place of discontentment.

Discontentment can lead to resentment and bitterness towards both God and people. Psalm 139 reminds us that God ordained all our days and everything about them! Jerry Bridges said, "God does nothing, or allows nothing, without a purpose, And His purposes however mysterious and inscrutable they may be to us, are always for His glory and our ultimate good". You may at this point be thinking how is this possible, you don't understand my situation. It doesn't matter Do you really believe that we are who we are because God made us that way? Do you really believe that God ordains all? There comes a point where we need to realize that God knows better and it is not at a place of submission to God's will that we find peace but when we accept the Truth. "Acceptance means that you accept all your circumstances from God, trusting that He unerringly knows what is best for you and that in His love, He purposes only that which is best. Having then reached a state of acceptance, you can ask God to let you use your difficult circumstances to glorify Him. In this way you have moved from the attitude of a victim to an attitude of stewardship." (Bridges) Does that mean you don't pray for deliverance from a situation or the answer to a desire of your heart? No, not at all; but it does mean that you are willing to accept HIS answer.

It all comes back to you holding a firm belief in the fact that God is sovereign, WISER THAN YOU and good! That He is IN all the circumstances of your life (handicap, loss of a loved one or a child, loss of a job). That whether your particular situation is short term or long term you will CHOOSE to say blessed be the name of the Lord. That you will respond like Job did in 1:21 "Naked I come from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." That you will by faith believe the Bible's teaching about God and His sovereign working in our lives and that you will believe with all your heart it is for HIS glory and YOUR good! May we, through the Spirit's enablement, be able to "move from any negative attitudes of discontentment to a positive attitude of being stewards of the difficult and disappointing circumstances God has given us so that we may somehow glorify Him in all of life".