Psalm 5

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these we shall be content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8

 Paul, in his first letter to Timothy says the absence of being righteous and the godly, along with being content, is a great loss. Especially in the Christian Life. We end up living a legalistic life filled with no joy, captive to religion, no longer able to hear Gods voice. Instead we get voice mails. My own voice, is a fog horn. We need to be grateful, this is what the Christian Life looks like, producing good fruit. For what we have, was all given to us by God and he can take it away. So be content with what the Lord has blessed us with.

  Job 1:21 is a great reminder, “ And he said, naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” It's so easy to forget what was given to us by the Lord and what we acclaimed ourselves..oh wait thats nothing. I have done NOTHING to deserve what the Lord has given me. The Lord has done all things, and through Him all things are given to us. From the hairs on my head, to the shoes on my feet, all from the Lord. And I will return to the dust that I was formed from.

 The Lord loves to bless those who are obedient to Him. Living a life of righteousness, is not easy, but is a life full of contentment, in which the Lord reveals Himself as Jehovah Jireh- the Lord my provider. He is our suastainer and He wants to show us that! Will I receive these things? Do I believe his promises? It's godliness with contentment. Not godliness with grief, or pride. Anger or malice...I am doing this solely for the Lord, and not because I'm receiving something in return.

  It was hard at first to see that this was the road that God wanted me to walk on, because I was on my own road of course.The narrow path. Alot of if-then, statements. Revealing that I hadn't truly loved the Lord. Showing that it wasn't Godliness with contentment. It was my very own selfish ambitions leading and guiding me where ever I pleased. So in essence, I didn't see God as the provider but one as many providers. He was second to many. He showed me in a testing, that stripped me of much, but strengthened me in my faith, and obedience. I must yield to Him.

  It wasn't easy learning His way, but it was also hard learning that I was a cruel selfish person to my Creator. However, He showed His love to me, and poured out His grace to me. And that was enough for me to understand one thing, there was a calling, and it requires me being godly, and being content. Not just on the outside.

  This week, I will read through the book of Philippians to understand what it is like to walk with godliness, and be content in the name of the Lord.