Friday, June 25, 2010

God Won't Let You Down

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

-- 1 John 2:17

What would it take to make you happy? Would a million dollars do it? How about $10 million or even $20 million? Oh, your needs aren't that great. A new house or a new SUV would make you happy. That's good to know.

That guy over there disagrees. He says good health for he and his family would make him happy. The woman at the back of the room just wants a job. The grandmother on the second row wants to see her grandchildren more often. There's always something we "need" to make us happy.

Well, I bet if you had all that money you'd still be unhappy. You'd just have a different set of problems, such as greedy friends and family and bad investment advice. That new house or SUV would grow old fairly quickly and you'd just want another one.

Good health is awesome but does anyone have good health all the time? Our bodies are forever changing. I wish I could do a few things I used to do without all the aches and pains. Not happening, at least not while I'm still on this earth. The woman who wants a job would find the job she gets wouldn't pay enough. And the grandmother would soon complain that the grandchildren got on her nerves.

Are you thoroughly depressed yet? Don't be. My point here is that we will never find contentment with things. When we look outward and to others to meet our needs, we'll be left wanting every time. Because we can never have enough stuff and people will always fail us because they're human too. Think I'm kidding? Just look at all the unhappy rich people in this world.

God has promised to meet all our needs. We just don't trust Him to do what He says. So we want, want, want instead of looking around and seeing all that He has already given us. The Apostle Paul said that he had learned to be content in all circumstances. I want to be like that. Don't you?

One of the happiest people I ever met is a woman with MS. She spends most of her time in a wheelchair, trying to get on with her life. Her laughter is wonderful and her trust in God's goodness is inspiring. She enjoys each day as it unfolds, holding her husband, children and friends close. She is content in circumstances that might destroy someone else.

Embracing faith, living it, believing it -- these things all lead to contentment. Taking that first step is scary but the reward is awesome. Trust God. He won't let you down.