Enjoy the Journey

How many people do you know who are unhappy? So many people are not enjoying life. I hear from some of them, and they say they don’t have enough money, they need a better job. Others say they have too many problems and their life is too complicated. Some people say life feels like a rat race because life has been reduced to a boring routine. Paul had this to say about contentment when he wrote Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:6-8

6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

To be content today in this fast-paced world is truly gain. I believe it is possible and that God desires for you to be content. He wants you to be content with yourself—with your body, your personality, your knowledge, your job and your family. The first place to start when we want to be content is to understand that God made us the way we are.

Psalms 139:13-19

13 For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

God made you just the way you are. You were no accident. There are no two people alike in the entire world because God has made us each unique. God crafted you—your body, your features, your traits, your personality and even your desires. When you come to accept this, you are on your way to becoming content.

The next step toward contentment is to enjoy the journey. Some people are always on their way to a destination in life, and they live for that moment of arrival. This trap robs us of the rewarding moments we experience each day. Last Sunday was my birthday, and I had a wonderful day with my family. Marilyn and I were driving with two of our little granddaughters when they started singing happy birthday to Grandpa. It was such a spontaneous moment that brought me such satisfaction and contentment. It reminded me that every day there are wonderful moments ripe for the picking, and I want to enjoy every one of them.