Nouns-A part of Speech and Life

A person, place, or thing...

Words...

Two words keep coming to my mind and when I looked up their definitions they were both catergorized as nouns.

Contentment

Joyful

What comes to your mind when you hear these words? Positive lines of thinking, I hope. I have just started a bible study on contentment and it is very humbling. Contentment is not natural. In your day-to-day life it can sometimes be hard to be joyful.

It's funny how it is so easy to complain. We complain about our appearance, our home, our car, our jobs, and sometimes our life in general. The book uses the illustration on Goldilocks and how she always found "the right thing"! I find myself discontent frequently-not liking to wear the same outfits after having them for awhile or always changing the placement of my furniture-it may seem little yet it all stems to the heart of discontentment. I think the two character qualities go hand in hand. If we are content with who we are and what we have we will be joyful!! What a great combination!

Contentment is talked about in the Bible. Paul was a wonderful example to us. He had so many different events take place in his life and yet he was always content.

Philippians 4:11

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

God even commands us to be content.

Hebrews 13:5

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Thou shalt not covet is one of the 10 commandments. If we are content we won't want what others have.

I believe it is an ongoing process-we have to work on it. I don't believe that this means we can't better ourselves or have earthly "things"-we have to have a balance.

Being joyful...what does that mean to you?

I think of a fountain-bubbling up and overflowing-can you picture it? If we are like that it will shine from the inside out and people will see it. It comes from God and not on what we have or who we are.

Psalm 63:5

"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: "

Doesn't that sound like a joyful person who is content?

Psalm 35:9

"And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation."

One of my favorite verses is Nehemiah 8:10:

"for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

As we strive to produce this fruit in our lives we should meditate on God's Word and the wonderful messages He has given us in the life plan He has laid out for us one day at a time. Be content and joyful where you are-strive to be the best you can be and do what God wants you to do as He directs and leads you in His plan-not our own.