happy in his work

"Whoever loves money never has money enough" ~ Ecc 5:10

I think this is true for whatever we love more than God. The concept of: If I just have a little more, then I will be happy. If I just get this, then my life will be great.

I see this in my life. I used to think if I could just move out of my parents house and live on my own, then I would be happy. Then I moved out. Then I thought, if I could just get a job, a real job, a career, then I would be happy. Then I got my dream job. Now there are still things I want and think, if I get that, then....

and deep down, I know that will never stop, unless something changes in my heart.

My dad always says, "even when you get what you want, it's not what you really wanted."

God says, "From now on I am the one who answers and satisfies him. I am like a luxuriant fruit tree. Everything you need is to be found in me." ~ Hosea 14:8 (msg)

Why do we chase after what we already have? If our hearts could only really believe how much we have in Jesus. All our desires, hopes, longings are fulfilled in him. It's just a matter of letting that truth overshadow the lie that we still need something more, just a little more.

Thinking on this helps me to stop. Stop asking and stop looking to the next thing. To begin to appreciate the present. the now. where I am at. this season. this job. this age. this day. this morning. this moment.

"Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is the gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart." ~ Ecc 5:19-20

"To accept his lot" is to be content with this season of my life. "To be happy in his work" is to work with all my heart, give it all I got, to enjoy the day to day task of it, to enjoy the people and the purpose behind what I do.

To enjoy my "lot and my work" is a gift from God.

Wanting and loving God (the giver of enjoyment) more than the possessions and more than the next thing, frees me up to enjoy HIM, enjoy my work, and enjoy what he has given me.

This leads to a heart occupied with gladness.

God's training & discipline

I see so many spiritual themes in the show, "The Biggest Loser". I see themes of identity in Christ, sin, sanctification, but the one I want to write about is the theme of God's discipline.

There are three trainers, each trainer gets a team of really overweight people to work with. Those are the people they are responsible for loosing weight and becoming healthy. They push them, they invest in them, they work out with them, they don't let them stop, they yell at them, they kick them out of the gym if they won't stop holding on to the treadmill, they pretty much abuse their people and push them to their limits and then keep them going.

There was this one scene where this huge 450 pound black man was pushed so hard that he was laying on the ground crying and saying I'm not as strong as I thought, I'm the weakest one here. And Bob his trainer got really close to his face and said, "You have to see who I see that you are. I see an athlete, there is a strong athlete inside of you. That is why I am pushing you. You got here and realized you arent as strong as you thought you were, but we are going to get there together. It's about what you believe, do you trust me to get you there?" Then told him to get up.

"Endure hardship as discipline, God is treating you as sons... No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:7-11

I see God doing this with us. The things he allows us to go through to train us, he uses to show us our weakness and also to help us discover our need and dependence on him. He sees what we can become, who he can make us, what we have inside of us. But it takes painful experiences to get us there. He pushes us to what feels like our limits. Through it, he is making us like him. He is making us stronger by making us weaker.

The hard part is trusting him when it feels like he's hurting us. That's when we have to hear God say to us, "You have to see who I see that you are." He sees us as he sees his son. He sees Christ in us. He uses the training to make what is true of us inwardly a reality reflected outwardly.

The transformation of their bodies reflects the ability of the trainer and the receptivity of the person being trained.

in the same way..

The transformation of our souls reflects the ability of God and our receptivity to his work in our lives.

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." ~ 1 Timothy 4:8