1 Timothy 6:6-8–Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Regardless of how positive we want to be in this life, it is hard to escape the disappointment of our “ideals” not being met.  By ideals I mean anything we conceived our life to be about, or whatever we had in mind for our lives to be like.  But to think like that means we already have “mapped out” how things are supposed to go, and who really knows that but God?

This is why living to the glory of God can be a great “mantra” we mentally ascend to, but not necessarily operate in how we think, and maneuver our lives around.  The greatest Challenger to our “ideals” is God, who created us for one thing, to live for His glory.  Whether that is what we have or what we have been called to do, our ideals are generally adverse to what God had in mind.

Faith becomes the great “enemy” to an idealistic life.  Whether we gather those ideals from what we wish we had that we see in others.  Or they are ideals we gather that we wish we could do, birthed from own imagination.  Ideals are thoughts that we think will bring us the most joy and fulfillment.  So where does that leave a life lived sacrificially for Christ, and for Him to be our life? (Colossians 3:4)

It is very easy to look at God and hope He blesses our ideals.  Whether to have a marriage that you always imagined, or a family, or career.  Yet all of those things are not to be determined by our will but by the Lord’s, which requires a real relationship of trust and faith!  So ask yourself the most penetrating question you can ask?  Am I living and doing things in hope for God to bless my ideals, because who is serving who at that point?  Or am I laying down my ideals at Christ feet, trusting Him to fulfill His will and purpose in my life?  Such a life brings true contentment, maybe not what we had in mind, but what He had in mind.

In His Love, Ld