Do you believe you have the best life you can have, now? How you answer that question will tell how content you are with your life.

If you are answer, “My life is not the best now. It can certainly be better,” then until you get to that “better” state, you will be discontent. Perhaps that better state is having a higher pay, being married, getting into a college of your dream, being thinner, or whatever else. But until you are in that better state, you are waiting, working, and hoping towards it.

In a sense, as Christians, we are all waiting for that better state – heaven! Therefore, we will never be completely satisfied in this world. But in another sense, we are exactly where God wants us to be. If we believe the words, “God works all things for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28),” then we must believe that our current state is the state God wants us to be in order to bring the maximum good! In other words, our current state of affairs is either the best it can be or a necessary step toward that best state.Either way, if your life was anything other than what it is now, you’d be more miserable; not happier! For example, if you think having more money will make you happier, you’d be wrong. If God wanted you to have more money, He would give you more money. But more money will actually bring you more misery and thus God did not allow you to have it.

This stunning realization came to me as I was reading recently about several well-known pastors’ debacle. These are the pastors, all about my age, whose churches grew exponentially almost as soon as they started. These pastors are famous, well-sought after for speaking engagements, wrote many books, and financially secure. I must admit that I secretly envied them. But recently, almost as if they promised, one by one, they were either fired or were forced to resign from their ministry in highly publicized way because of certain disqualifications on their part. And I found myself saying, “Thank you, God, that I’m not a pastor of a large church where pride would draw me away from Christ!”

When I believe whatever my current circumstance might be it is the best for me, and for it to be otherwise would actually make me more miserable, I’m finding more trust and love for God and thus more joy! Let me give you some more examples…

– I’m thankful that I’m not good looking so that women don’t throw themselves at me to tempt me away from my wife.

– I’m tankful that I’m not rich so that I’m not lured away by money and lose things that are far more important – like family and ministry.

– I’m thankful that I’m not a pastor of a large church where pride would draw me away from Christ.

Your handicap might actually be your blessing.

PH