Contentment in the Midst of Chaos

I attend a monthly Christian mom's group that has really grown me as a wife, mother and as a follower of Christ. Every month, somehow the subject is exactly what I needed and doesn't just go in one ear and out the other. It really resonates with me and it's something I hold onto and try and work on with fervor. Just to give you a taste of what I'm fortunate enough to experience every month, here are some highlights from last night's talk.

The thing about being in the middle of a crisis is it's so easy to say, "Why me, God?" or "It's gotta get better than this". But, what if it doesn't get better than this? What if this is God's plan all along? This is when we have to find contentment right now in the midst of our chaos.

There are 7 Keys to Contentment in the Midst of Chaos

Remember the story of the woman at the well? If not, read John 4 below and it will get us on the same page.

John 4:1-26 (Message)

1 Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed 2 (although his disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. 3 So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee. 4 To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. 5 He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. 7 A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" 8 (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) 9 The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water." 11 The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this 'living water'? 12 Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?" 13 Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. 14 Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst - not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life." 15 The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!" 16 He said, "Go call your husband and then come back." 17 "I have no husband," she said. 18 You've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now isn't even your husband. You spoke the truth there, sure enough." 19 "Oh, so you're a prophet! 20 Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?" 21 "Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. 22 You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God's way of salvation is made available through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming - it has, in fact, come - when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. 24 God is sheer being itself - Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration." 25 The woman said, "I don't know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we'll get the whole story." 26"I am he," said Jesus. "You don't have to wait any longer or look any further."

1. Recognize and acknowledge each source of discontentment in your life.

• This might be something you've always dealt with your life. It just keeps coming up.
• What is that empty place you're always trying to feed with something other than God?

2. Ask God to help you recognize your discontentment.

Psalms 139:23-24 (Message)

23 Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about; 24 See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong - then guide me on the road to eternal life.

3. Be honest about the negative effects your discontentment has had on you and your family throughout your life.

• Have you blamed others for the chaos that you're in?
• You can pass on generational bondage of discontentment to your children. Be careful!

Romans 6:20-23 (Message)

20 As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. 21 But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. 22 But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! 23Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

4. Confess your discontentment and that you have tried to fill your empty places with things other than God.

Jeremiah 2:13 (NLT)

13 For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me -- the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

5. Pray about and avoid triggers for your discontentment.

• Examples: A comment from a friend takes you right back to that place of discontentment, a reminder of a recurring pain, or that you are failing in an area.
• Something to remember: "You should never get too hungry, too tired or too lonely."

6. Start each day fresh-focusing on God on His goodness and end each day resting in His promises.

Psalms 63:1-8 (Message)

1 God - you're my God! I can't get enough of you! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts. 2 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory. 3 In your generous love I am really living at last! My lips brim praises like fountains. 4 I bless you every time I take a breath; My arms wave like banners of praise to you. 5 I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy; I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises! 6 If I'm sleepless at midnight, I spend the hours in grateful reflection. 7 Because you've always stood up for me, I'm free to run and play. 8 I hold on to you for dear life, and you hold me steady as a post.

7. Be transparent with others and let your story bring Him glory!

This is what happened from the woman at the well's witness of Jesus knowing her past:

John 4:39-42 (Message)

39 Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman's witness: "He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!" 40 They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. 41 A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. 42 They said to the woman, "We're no longer taking this on your say-so. We've heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He's the Savior of the world!"

I know I'm going to take this lesson and get on my knees to God and listen to what He has to say, not what others have to say. It's so easy to just push your discontentment to the back shelf and never get to the root of it. But, if you truly want to release your discontentment, your dissatisfaction, depression, displeasure, envy, fretfulness, regret, restlessness, uneasiness or unhappiness, you fill in the blank then get on your knees, go through these steps and find contentment in the midst of your chaos.

**If you're a mom in the DFW metroplex, feel free to attend this free monthly women's event held in Grapevine, TX so your heart can be filled with uplifting messages of God's truth for you to instill to your children. Their slogan is, "There's no way to be a perfect mom, but a thousand ways to be a great one!" Here's the link to Legacy Moms.