Confined Contentment (#7 of 365+)

In the movie The Shawshank Redemption a man named “Red” repeatedly failed to convince officials during parole hearings that he was a changed man and had served his time. He had lost hope
of ever being released. He counseled a younger man, “Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Much later in the movie the older man was released from prison but was having difficulty adjusting to life on the outside. During that time Red began contemplating suicide, but then he found a note from his good friend Andy (who had escaped from prison years prior to his release). The note changed Red’s outlook on life. He thought, “I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”


Some things in life can make us feel trapped. In Joni’s situation, it is her quadriplegia. For my mother, it is her responsibility as my autistic sister’s primary caregiver. For my husband and I, it is debt (that we are steadily paying off) and at times for me it is my job (or a situation I am confronted with at work). Paul, someone who had spent a lot of time in prison, wrote, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). Joni explained in today’s devotional, “Contentment is a sedate spirit that finds its strength in Jesus.” My discontent always becomes unbearable when I forget to Fully Relying On God (FROG). I have often tried to handle little "situations" in my own strength and then looked to him only when my back is up against the wall. I've noticed that when I continue for a while on this stubborn path that God allows even more "opportunities" for me to practice relying on him. Does that make sense?

Lord, thank you for the hope that you’ve given me. May I see every negative thing in my world as only a small part of the greater picture. Thank you for my husband and my son, who both have a gift for seeing the humor in life! Amen.