Clarity

"...don't worry about your life - 

what you will eat or drink: 

or about your body - 

what you will wear... 

can you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 

Your heavenly Father knows your needs. 

Seek first His kingdom and 

His righteousness and 

all these things will be given to you.

 Don't worry about tomorrow -

 tomorrow will worry about itself! 

Today has enough of its own troubles."

Matthew 25, 27, 32b-34

So far, in my life, 

this has proven to be the most difficult lesson

 for me to learn.

Having been stripped of nearly everything,

  I have had ample opportunity 

to work on it though.

In the process

I have learned much,

both, about myself

and about God.

I have learned that 

there is still a lot of work to be done - 

in me.

And I have re-realized

that knowing 

(or getting to know)

God

is a life-long adventure.

Every day I am coming into

the fullness of His glory.

Hallelujah!

But somewhere along the way,

I realize, that I have misplaced

Hope & Joy

and have lost my zeal for

life.

In Philippians 4,

Paul talks about learning to be content.

And, in fact, for years

I have quoted verse 11 to myself,

over and over again, 

in order that I would

"remember" to be content.

But this morning,

Holy Spirit revealed to me

that I have been misquoting this verse to myself 

~ for years!

Yikes!

You see, Paul says,

"I have learned to be content regardless of circumstances."

But Holy Spirit lovingly pointed out to me 

that I need to follow that verse through with the next two verses

which actually finish the thought.

Here's what verses 12-13 say,

"I know what it is to be in want, 

and I know what it is to have more than enough -

 in everything and in every way 

I have learned the secret of being full and being hungry, 

of having abundance and being in need. 

I can do all things through Christ who gives me power."

The secret is ~

being content 

~ in HIM - 

Jesus!

All this time 

I have been beating myself up;

attempting to be content

in my circumstances - 

good or bad...

When all along

I should have really been 

learning to be content 

in 

Jesus!

In Jesus there is Hope.

In Jesus there is fullness of Joy.

In Jesus there is Life.

Now that I see more clearly,

for the sake of my family

and for my health,

I pray that I can quickly return to

Hope

Joy

and

(abundant)

Life!

Hallelujah!