Contentment Lesson #11

Chapter 11 - Trusting God with the If Onlys
Calm My Anxious Heart - Linda Dillow

If you remember from last week, Linda said that the two most deadly Spiritual Diseases are the What Ifs and the If Onlys. So this chapter focuses on the second - wishing that you could go back and do things differently. Linda says that "If we are to find contentment in the midst of trial and uncertainty, we must accept our situation as being purposely allowed into our lives by a personal and loving God."

We must be at peace with what God allows in our lives...and that can be very difficult to accept. How much time and energy do we waste on self-pity and re-hashing the past or what could have been done differently. There will always be "ifs" in our lives - situations that could have been changed, situations where God, being all-powerful, could have done things differently, but that flat out didn't happen.

Linda used the example of Martha in the Bible. When her brother Lazarus died, she said to Jesus, "IF ONLY you had been here, my brother would not have died." And Jesus could have been there. But how much greater did He show His power by waiting and coming after Lazarus had been dead several days and raised him from the dead??? Jesus responded to Martha and said, "Did I not tell you that IF you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

But in the midst of our situation we can't see what God is doing - and sometimes we may never see what God is doing...but it all goes back to that foundation of faith we talked about two weeks ago.

Linda says that you catch the If Only disease when you focus on what you DON'T have instead of what you DO have. We must keep the perspective of God fresh on our minds and fight the temptation to become discontent. We have to focus on God instead of our problem or circumstance, or our thoughts become irrational. One problem becomes a whole list of problems. We start to have our own little pity party. We instead need to let go of our need to control or be in control, and let God be the problem solver! God is so much bigger than our problems. He is faithful, He loves us and wants to help us...but we have to ask...and we have to ask willing to accept whatever outcome, and not look back and start in on the If Onlys.

Isn't it funny how so many times it is the smallest things that cause to to become discontent, and how the tiniest things cause such a frustrating disruption to our lives? So much is our perspective, and as Linda says, "Peace comes through acceptance."

Whether your "portion" in life is major (death of a child, unfaithful spouse, cancer) or small (weight gain, bad skin, stubborn child), we still have a choice to accept what is happening and not get caught in the If Onlys, to choose to trust God and make the most of our situation.

Linda says the key to trusting God is to REMEMBER what He has done in the past. She loves Psalm 77...here are pieces that stick out to her:

"My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;...I was too troubled to speak....Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful?" (Psalm 77:2-4, 8-9)

She can resonate with these words because she has been there...but the Psalm doesn't end there...here are verses 11-14:

"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples."

Verse 11 starts out with Linda's whole point: "I WILL REMEMBER." Even if you have to force yourself to do it when you are tempted to give in to the If Onlys, even if it means taking out a paper and pencil - REMEMBER what God has done for you. Because as Linda writes, "It helps [you] to trust Him in the present."

When you are tempted with the If Onlys go to God with your problems and struggles that you are facing. Don't begin to worry or be anxious - instead PRAY.

What a great reminder for me today!