Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Guest (Male): Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Today, Joni has a great story that I know will hit home.

Joni Eareckson Tada: My friend, and I will call her Colleen, just finished going through a divorce, something that she initiated, and I don't think with good cause. Colleen also just sold her new car for a zippier model. She hoped that these changes would bring joy in her life, yet she feels anything but footloose and fancy-free.

In fact, Colleen emailed me recently to tell me how discouraged she feels. She thought that her divorce and her new car would bring her some measure of happiness. Now, Colleen claims to know Jesus, and so about five months ago, I signed her up to receive my daily e-devotionals because I thought these little daily lessons from God's word would help straighten her thinking.

Earlier today, I got an email from Colleen and in it she wrote, "Joni, your devotional that came up to my computer this morning had my name written all over it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am beginning to see the mistakes I've made, and I'm asking God to show me how to make things right." Well, I tell you what, right away I had to go look and see what I sent out on my e-devotional, and it started with this verse from Haggai chapter 1.

This is what the word of God says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. This is what the Lord Almighty says: Give careful thought to your ways."

Wow, can you see how convicting this little verse would be to Colleen? We have our beautiful homes and our three meals a day on the table and supermarket double coupons, but isn't it odd how we still want more? If we're single, we want to be married. If we're married, we want the perfect spouse. If we have the perfect spouse, we want time to enjoy life.

Other times, it seems we have too much: sky-high medical bills, 14 visits to the hospital, eight surgeries, a stroke renders our husband speechless, or chromosomes hinder our grandchild. We are baffled at why the abundant life seems to elude us and land in the laps of others. Simply put, and this is so like Colleen, we want what we do not have, and we have what we do not want, and we are so unhappy. Why is it our human nature never seems satisfied?

Well, it's why God tells us twice in Haggai chapter 1 to give careful thought to our ways. Two times, he tells us to thoroughly examine our perspective on life as well as our style of life. Sometimes I think the more we get, the more dissatisfied we are. Little wonder 1 Peter chapter 4 warns us, "For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do."

Oh Christian, Christ is our sufficiency. Proverbs 19 underscores that when it tells us the fear of the Lord leads to life, then one rests content. So today, ask God to show you how to rest content in him, and then believe what he says in Proverbs 19.

Guest (Male): And friend, I encourage you to sign up for Joni's daily e-devotionals. When you do, Joni's devotionals will land in your inbox each day, giving you a much-needed perspective on life's hardships. They're all centered around God's word, and I know they'll bring you tremendous comfort. So go to joniandfriends.org today and start receiving Joni's daily devotionals. And God bless you for resting content in the Lord.