Content with Your Own Cattle

by Emily
from Virtuous Daughters, February 2007~Volume 6, Number 11

It is God’s will that we be content with everything that He has given or not given us. It is Satan’s goal to do everything he can to make us discontent with what God has given or not given. 

A list of what we can be discontent with could easily be quite long: possessions, family, our home, friends, time, personal appearance—you name it! We literally have a world of options waiting to jail us into shallow thinking, claiming that things have to be a certain way in order for us to be happy.

We are told that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Think about that for a moment. He is not limited in His ability to provide for us. Philippians 4:19 says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  What a promise! We have a God who wants to take care of us!

Even though we know this already, sometimes it’s a struggle for some of us to feel content with the way things may be going. For example, perhaps it’s tempting to be jealous because a friend just got something we’ve been praying for, for a long time—was God not listening to our prayers? I was in a class not too long ago where the teacher was talking about God answering prayer. She suggested God answers prayer in one of three forms: yes, no, or wait. It is God’s wise molding of our character to answer our prayers in ways that will require us to exercise, among many things, trust and patience.

We are in a society that judges people by how rich and how important they are in the world. Like our stomach, our soul needs to be fed with nourishing food and water, or in this case, communion with God. “My soul thirsteth for God . . .” (Ps. 42:2). Instead of pouring into ourselves the spiritual water our soul is craving, I think we attempt to fill the void with water that will make us thirst yet again—the cheap and unhealthy “water” the world flaunts before us as though that was what would bring us joy and satisfaction. True, I feel very happy after shopping :)—but once I get in to the mindset of “getting-because-I-want,” I have gone too far. We need to thank the Lord for His blessings on our lives and have our motive for having or being something be based upon what the Lord would think of us and what would be most honoring of Him.

When we are discontent with God’s provisions and blessings on our lives we are taking one of the names of God in vain, for He is called the “Provider”!

One pastor said, “The more things you have, the more things have you!” :) It’s so true, isn’t it? I’ve often wondered what a home would look like if it was stripped of all its needless “this and that’s,” purged of all vain ways to fill time and left only with those things that would profit our walk with the Savior. What a refreshing home that would be!

Let’s face it: Life isn’t about whether or not we’re the nicest looking or if we’re the one with the coolest clothes—it’s about whether we are living a God-honoring life in all that we think, say, and do. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

God knows our every desire, and will not hesitate to give to us some of His cattle amongst all those hills if He knows it is what is best for us. God cherishes us! He loves to provide, and loves to show Himself mighty by answering our prayers . . . His way.

Let’s set ourselves apart from our discontented, covetous world and be content with the cattle provided. It is the contentment, not the cattle, that will matter in eternity, anyway. “…We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”—1 Timothy 6:7