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Contentment,
Obedience and the Will of God
By Kim
Eddy
Sitting in the garden
early this morning, I had my quiet time
with the Lord and then started to do some
physical weeding after the spiritual
weeding was done. I came back out to do
more work after we had a relaxing lunch
and I had a little mid-morning computer
time, and I did some phonics drills with
Judah. Sitting on my bench, having a cup
of coffee, and having children bringing
me freshly picked strawberries,
raspberries, gooseberries and currants, I
found myself saying, "You know, life
is good. I think I'll stay here."
I've thought that a few times over the
last several months...this is my dream
home, my garden is as I want it, we are
remodeling our home to be tailored to us,
we have a good church, and we are settled
in. Why leave?
And then, in my mind, I contrast it with
the attitude I possessed 10 years
ago...we were sure God had called us to
the mission-field, so why stay? Why put
down roots? We're leaving
"soon"; we're not staying here,
hurry up, let's go! What a disappointment
when we tried to get up and leave and go
off to where we felt we were called, and
God slammed the door shut! Everyone
around us, who felt we were called too,
kept encouraging us, needling us,
pestering us, to just keep banging on
that door--quick, make it open, don't be
discouraged, keep at it. But, it would
seem, it was God who had shut the door,
and after 10 years of wrestling with that
particular angel, we had to be brought to
a place of contentment of where we were
at, doing what God called us to do, that
being caring for 5 little souls and a
growing household, and being incognito on
the back pew of a local church.
Is God laughing, I wonder?
As soon as contentment came natural, and
we did that which we never thought we'd
do--putting down roots, settling in, not
renewing our passports when they expired,
resigning ourselves to speaking English
rather than German in the home--the door
opened again, and rather than nudging us
a little bit, God has needed to kick us
through it.
"Life is good; I think I'll stay
here." Why leave somewhere this
great? What sort of fool takes a pay cut,
with a "by faith alone"
paycheck, moves into a smaller home that
doesn't belong to them, in a place with a
much higher cost of living, for a job
you've never done, in a foreign country
far away? When we told our parents, my
in-laws wanted to know how much of an
increase in pay my husband would be
getting; my parents wanted to know what
the retirement and benefits were. To
unsaved relatives, declaring the eternal
rewards of a job makes little, if any,
sense. Benefits? There are no material
benefits with this job. Retirement
package? A crown to throw at the Lord's
feet I suppose...we're just pilgrims
sojourning here anyways. Why shed
everything to jump off into the unknown?
Why do such a silly thing?
Every day for six months, I both rejoiced
in what God is doing, as He opens doors
only He can open, and declare to God
that, "It's ok now, Lord, we're
content here, and You really don't have
to send us off to the mission field, ok,
Lord?"
As those who want to declare the more
practical problems of this situation to
us point out the areas of concern, and as
our own fear of the unknown future swirls
in our minds, God has sent more
confirmation than two people ought to
need to make a godly decision, and we are
able to look back and see so many things
He weeded out of our lives as we grew,
and were taught of Him. What's more, we
were the ones who had spend years, YEARS,
praying for God to open the door, and now
as we stand there, we look at the door as
if to say, "Bravo, Lord, You did it!
You opened it! Thanks! Now, let us be
about our business."
But today, today as I sat outside in the
garden and thanked God for His many
blessings to us, and thanked Him for all
the confirmation and sat bathed in the
contentment of that very moment, I knew
solidly "why" it was that we
had to say yes to what God is nudging us
towards. It is not about what Martin
wants or what I want; it is about what
God wants, and being obedient to His
call. And the only reason I can feel
contentment at this moment is because, at
this moment, I am right where He wants me
to be, doing what He wants me to do. A
year from now, if I am still sitting
here, nostalgically trying to conjure up
this contented feeling again, I will not
have the same peace, because I will not
be in His will any longer. Every day I am
required by God to seek out His will, and
live according to it, for me, for this
day...both His general will that we find
in the Bible, and His specific will, as
He guides and directs our paths.
Our tomorrow is not about comfort, or a
contentment that has become complacency;
it is about obedience and faith. With
such a view always kept in mind, it is
impossible to neglect prayer and Bible
reading, and a relationship with the Lord
that will keep on growing. And with that
thought in my mind, I got up from where I
was sitting, and obeying my husband, I
started to pack.
Copyright 2002 by Kim Eddy
Kim Eddy is a wife, mother of five, and
writer. Mrs. Eddy has written several
articles in magazines such as Above
Rubies and Joyful Noise, as well as
books. Her works include Thriving on One
Income and Spiritual Warfare for Couples.
For over a decade, Kim and her husband
Martin have felt a call to missions in
Austria. Now they are seeing their
calling fulfilled. For more information
about Mrs. Eddy and her writing, please
contact her at kimbereddy@tds.net.
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