Do you have a humble home?
Perhaps there are cracks in the wall, or the rooms needing painting. Maybe there are things that need repair or updating or just things that you wish you could change. You might even look around and wish that your home could be like the catalog or beautiful like your friend's home. This can foster and feed the growing appetite of discontent.
But I think what is important is that if we can remember that humble homes, humble vehicles, humble wardrobes, humble paychecks and humble circumstances are not to be looked at as a curse. We need to instead with a joyful heart look our circumstances, whatever they may be, as God' providence instead.
If we look at what we have with the mindset that this is what God himself has provided for us at this time we can be thankful. We know that He has ultimately provided all that we own and who are we to complain? We can even be joyful knowing that He has provided, even in the leanest of times, and we can rejoice in Him.
America is one of the richest countries in the world and yet we compare ourselves so quickly and become discontent. Third world countries have dirt for floors and use cardboard boxes for walls and somehow they still manage to come together in packs and enjoy the home while eating a simple meal from a plain pot over a fire.
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."- Phillipians 4:12
Often times, He might allow us to live in humble circumstances to teach and refine us. Are we truly thankful? Are we complaining and grumbling? Do we have any growing to do in this area? Are we being creative with what we have? Will He use us to help others in the same circumstances one day? What is He teaching me through all this?
Whatever your circumstances, whether rich or poor, humble or not, remember to give thanks to the Lord for what He has given you. The very thing you might be cursing could truly be your neighbors prayer come true. You never know how bad someone else has it until you step away from your own cares and worries and fix your eyes on those around you. Let us begin the month of November, the season of thanksgiving, with truly giving thanks. Our homes can be a place where peace, love, and hope and the presence of Christ abounds and in that we are rich.
"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. "
1 Thessalonians 5:18
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13 comments:
I live in an area where we have a lot of grand and beautiful homes.So, the comparison game is one that I definitely struggle with sometimes. In this month of giving thanks, this is a wonderful reminder.
Loved this. I think God is teaching us to be content through the situation we are in now, just like you are saying. We are living in a garage. We came from beautiful apartment living in a sunny state, to humble garage living in a cold state. And it has been a struggle all the way, but I feel changed. I still have it much better than most in the world. Thanks be to God.
www.acorkerslife.blogspot.com
Wonderful post and so true. Thank you for sharing and have a lovely day.
Blessings,
Sandi
Mrs. H,
Thank you for sharing your story with us. As Americans,it is so easy to forget that there is more to life than the glitter and glam that we see all around us. I know there are so many struggling and hurting-- I wish that I could just reach out and give everyone a great big hug and tell them the Lord loves them and has NOT forsaken them.
I will be praying for you, that God would provide warmth and I hope that you will be in a home very soon. It is also wonderful that you can give thanks through it all--a wonderful example to us all. May He be praised!
Many blessings...
Thank you for posting this. We were once so in need that we thought we would be living off rice and peanut butter or whatever we could get with WIC checks. Now we are completely blessed by the Lord...owning our own home with an abundance of food. The good times are even greater when you remember the bad. Praise God for His love.
Such a great reminder! Thank you for posting :)
~blessings~
Jen
http://narrowwaywife.blogspot.com
thank you so much for this. i truly needed to hear this. my husband and i have recently moved from FL to MI and are living in the basement of his parents home. while they did a lot to make it comfortable for us, it it still a basement and part of where our things are is in the unfinished portion by the washer and dryer... its hard sometimes to remember just how blessed we are that they were able to take us in and provide us with a place to live while we get back on our feet, especially when looking at plain concrete walls.
again, thank you for such a wonderful and timely reminder, it is definitely one i need right now in my life:-)
Thank you so much for this post today! We have a very large home that we are selling and we have bought a "starter" home. We felt like God was asking us to be more humble. We prayed and prayed for our little home. It was like Manna from Heaven when God finally gave it to us. Now, however, sometimes I feel like the Israelites who grumbled about the Manna. How ungrateful we are sometimes!!
We are in the adoption process and plan to use the money from the sale of the big home to accomplish this. Hopefully we will be able to sell the big home soon.
Blessings, Beth
Amen, dear sister, Amen. I have "had it all" at sometime or another in my life...mostly in my younger years before marriage. But the Lord gave me a gift in the last 4 years of single life, when I had my own apt & had to take care of myself. (SHOULD have stayed home till marriage, but I wasn't a Christian...& that's another story.) What I mean is that the Lord GAVE me the gift of living simply. In MY case, if I had come straight from home ~ where I had the finest of everything ~ & married my sweet, precious godly husband & entered a marriage of meager means, I probably would have caused my husband a world of trouble. But since HE is the 1 who came 'from home' & I had 'experience' in going w/o & making do, we have been able to live humbly & happily for a blessed 27 yrs. I love my husband, my sweet family & my humble home.
Blessings from Ohio...Kim<><
Thank you for speaking truth through this blog post. I just journaled yesterday as part of my Bible study that I struggle with jealousy/envy because of what I see others have, especially in the blogosphere. It's easy to see blogging women and moms who share who they are or what they do and think that they have something better. God is reminding me though of the same exact things you shared here today. My eyes must be on Him and I must focus on what He is calling ME to do :) thank you!
When my son brought home photos of the slum areas in Thailand where they were fixing up houses for people it really brought home for me my feelings of discontent about my home that we have been renovating ever since we moved in. I am blessed with a large home but it needed a lot of work when we bought it. We have accomplished a lot but there is still a long way to go. Little things that need to be finished would nag at me - the ensuite and wardrobes without doors. How blessed am I to have two bathrooms! The 'home improvements in Thailand my son helped with were actually putting in walls on what I would call shacks and how grateful the family was. And here was I griping about my bare wall that really needed a big mirror. How ridiculous! It is too easy to compare now that we can take tours of people's homes on blogs and as much as I love pinterest I have to be careful not to let all those lovely images of homes stir up discontent in my heart.
This post is a blessing! I too have fallen victim to the comparisons. I have made it a point to be grateful for what we do have. I walked around my little rented home today and for the first time saw so much beauty in it because the Lord provided it for us!!!
Love this! I deal with comparing all the time. There are so many things about my house I wish I could fix but in reality I should be thankful I have a nice warm house to live in. Thanks for the reminder.
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