When Comparison Steals Your Contentment (Philippians # 9)

Transcript: (00:00) good evening and welcome to crowd church tonight it's great to see so many here and um I am joined tonight by Beth Beth introduce yourself hello my name is Beth that was very slick I know it's great to be here I'm really really excited about this evening yeah it's it's um it's exciting to be here so um Beth and I I'm actually standing in tonight for Matt who is poly he's not feeling very well he's lost his voice so yeah we are going to be winging it even more than we usually are so that's good um but yeah so welcome and tonight (00:40) we're going to be joined in a minute by Jack and he's going to be continuing his uh well continuing our series with Philippians so he's going to be talking to us tonight about a little bit about contentment and I'm looking at Beth now because I'm just trying to remember as I'm talking yeah he it's our last one in the series so he's finishing the book yeah so I'm looking forward to that and um what else have we got coming up so after the talk we will be having conversation street so start writing your questions and comments uh down in (01:18) the comments below and uh we will be yeah we will be able to try and Tackle those during conversation Street as best as we can we'll give it a go at very least yeah okay I think we should uh just play the video yeah you ready Jack without further Ado yeah you good evening lovely to see you all and uh great to be here great to be able to share today I have the privilege of leading Frontline Church with my wife Jenny who I know has been here spoke here and led uh on the chat as well recently um I want to start today with a (02:06) question who here knows what it is to be content who feels like they've nailed what it is to be content in any situation you know it's easy to be content when things are going well isn't it when life is going well when our job gives us purpose and meaning when our friend friendships and family networks are good um when money's good money is a funny one isn't it money can really steal uh when we're comparing with others that sort of feeling of contentment um I've got a funny story to to show the other day we were getting (02:43) ready for Christmas and it was end of November and we got our Christmas tree up because I went past little and they were selling this 7 foot tree for 16 quid and I was like we're going early and we got the Christmas tree in and me and Nancy brought it into the house we got the lights up and then the next day we did the whole family thing where we put the neon penguin out the front I know it's bit bit random my mom gave it to us and it's just stuck and we were going to watch Home Alone that evening and uh my son turned around to me and said dad what do you want for Christmas (03:17) and I was like I don't know I genuinely not thought about it and so I got thinking the next couple of days and I was walking uh to work one day in my brown shoes and uh I love these brown shoes I've had these brown shoes for a number of years and they started to feel a little bit old and it's because I just started to think what do I want for Christmas maybe I want a new pair of brown shoes and then I started seeing everyone else's brown shoes and shoes left right and Center um looked nicer than mine and suddenly my brown shoes started to feel really old and I started (03:52) to think they needed changing and I actually went to bed dreaming about a new pair of brown shoes quite genuinely I don't know we've got a little slide of a random pair of brown shoes um this is a pair of brown shoes that I genuinely wanted apparently that this epitomizes what it's like to be 50 but you know um I went to bed thinking I need if only I have a new pair of brown shoes then I'll be content then I'll be able to sleep well and it's so easy isn't it it's so funny how quickly we can go from being content from needing nothing to suddenly (04:29) something thing rocking our world and something like a new pair of brown shoes or if we're really honest we can get that phone call can't we from a loved one that changes everything I had a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a loved one that was some serious news and it rocked me for a number of days or maybe it's a job that we have and our boss calls us in and gives us some bad news or a child has been bullied at school and it just robs us of the joy that we'd had had beforehand anyone experienced (05:01) anything like that happens all the time doesn't it well this theme of contentment is what Paul speaks about in this letter and it is the final part of our Philippines series Big R um R in the comments if you want to but it is uh the last one in our Series so I'm going to read out the first um portion of it Philippians 4 and then get into uh what Paul is saying to us so Philippians 4:10 and I'll read to about 16 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me you were indeed concerned for me but you had no opportunity not that I'm speaking of (05:44) being in Need for I've learned in whatever situation I am to be content I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and every circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger abundance and need I can do all things through him who strengthens me so let's just pause there now this is Paul writing to the church in Philippi he writes this from prison I think we've already gathered that from previous um talks he writes it from prison in Rome and he has been persecuted he's been he's faced hunger he's faced isolation um he's had people (06:28) threatened to kill him let's face it Paul beats most of us when it comes to what people have faced the harshness the the suffering people have faced and he writes this to I think this about six years before in his letter to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11 23-29 check this out he says I've worked much harder I've been impr prisoned more frequently I've been flogged more severely been exposed to death again and again five times I've received from the Jews the 40 Lashes minus one three times I was beaten with rods once I was pelted with stones three times I (07:06) was wrecked not just once but three times I spent a night and a day in the open sea I've been constantly on the Move in danger from rivers from bandits in danger from my fellow Jews from Gentiles I've labored and toiled I've often Gone without sleep I've known hunger and thirst and have gone without food I've been cold and naked I mean this he's got to be up there hasn't he I mean anyone want to compete you might have had a bad day or a bad season but there's not many people that can compete with Paul and yet it's him who who (07:37) boldly States in today's message in today's passage I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content so what's he getting at what does he mean by this what can we learn from him and is it possible to be content in any situation well to help us think about this I'm going to pull out three kind of points from Paul's teaching and then leave us with one application for us to take away and the first point is this contentment is not found in being strong it's not found in being strong but it's about accepting our weakness you know there's this very British kind of stoic (08:18) trait that we can bring into our faith and into Christianity if we're not careful one that says whatever happens whatever we're going through let's just carry on let's just keep going let's just stiff up a lip bu that emotion keep calm and carry on you might have seen this little picture before you know don't say anything just I I can do this I don't know if it's a male thing I don't know if it's a British thing I don't know if it's just a personality type but just keep calm I can hold it all together in my own strength and when we look at this passage we can think (08:50) that actually this is what Paul's saying he says for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content I know how to be brought low I know know how to abound in any and every circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger abundance and need and it's like he's saying whatever we're going through just Mar on like a soldier would put up with anything I know how to achieve contentment I know how to just bury it and hold on I love survival programs I love um SAS who dares wins if (09:25) anyone's watched that and uh it's where um people people are put up against all these big tests um to test their physical ability their mental strength and resilience and the premise is who is the toughest of them all and by the end of it there might just be one or two people standing but who can hold it all together who can grit their teeth and remain and even the word content in this passage in Greek can have this this type of meaning it could mean self-sufficient or independent so we could think that what Paul is saying is that whatever he (10:03) is facing he has learned this inner toughness this self reliance this Independence this this kind of inner steeliness and resilience that's going to help him keep going but this isn't what Paul's saying is it instead of self-sufficiency what does he say he says I can do all things through Not My Own Strength but through him Christ who strengthens me it's not by his strength or this kind of stoic ability that he finds this inner Zen likee type of Peace but instead of relying on his own strength to be content Paul emphasizes (10:40) this resilience and sufficiency that comes from Christ that's his secret and for me this is where it gets real this is where um if we think about some of the journey and some of the seasons we might have been in in our own personal lives and might be ones that we're in right now for me about four years ago I was going through a really hard time uh my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he' been ill for years and I remember me and my mom on the phone and in person saying why is he not being delivered from this why is God not met (11:12) his needs and then my brother decides to get a blood clot and he's in ICU and I they're all in London I'm in Liverpool so I'm trying to like go down and up and down and up and then I do something stupid in my garage and I end up joining them not literally in hospital but I ended up in a Liverpool hospital because I decided to put my finger into a rotating circular saw and um sorry I I won't put any pict I do have pictures I won't put any up and I still remember the the text that my wife Jenny sent my (11:44) mom something along the lines of I know your husband's in in hospital I know your son's in hospital and now here's Jack your other son also in hospital um it wasn't a wise thing to do and on top of that we were trying to have um we wanted a third child and we were going through fostering and adopting and because of covid it just slow the whole process slowed down and this was a really hard time and there are seasons in our life that and circumstances that are so hard aren't there and we might be going through them now we might just be able to think back but if someone said to me in that moment Jack you just need (12:18) to trust Jesus or just fix your eyes on Jesus I probably would have punched them um but that's the thing that is th it's in those Seasons that God can really meet us it's when we're in the at the end of ourselves it's in those hard Seasons that we can actually realize that we don't have that inner strength we don't have that resilience that we thought we had to just keep going that our strength is not enough and that is where God longs to meet us you know if our contentment is based on us being strong then there's going to be a time in our lives at some point where we get unstuck where we feel that actually our (12:58) strength can't get us through so that's the first point that Paul is saying it's not his strength that has got him to be content the second point is that contentment is not based on what we have it's not based on the external but it's based on what is inside the internal Paul starts this passage thanking the church um for their concerns for him and the gifts they gave him and there's all sorts of a backdrop of context behind this that he didn't want to be seen as um needing their money or wanting their (13:31) money he wanted to be above reproach when it comes to financial things and um so he's quick to say thank you for that money but he's also quick to say actually that's not the thing that I need to be sustained that's not what sustains me and it's so easy for us to think that we're going to be sustained when the external things in life are all sorted you know when I've got that pair of brown shoes or when that job is giving me a sense of purpose or when my friendship network is supporting me perfectly or my family situation is (14:03) great or when my loved ones are all well then I'll be content but for Paul contentment is it's that deep place that that has nothing to do with the external situation there nothing to do with that and what what Paul says is he has found the secret um and what I think he's pointing to is something on the inside it's he shares about this in his letter to um the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 46-18 this is a beautiful passage I'm going to read it out 2 Corinthians 4:16 to18 he says therefore we do not lose heart though outwardly we are wasting (14:45) away yet inwardly we're being renewed day by day outwardly the external things might not be going well but inwardly we are being renewed day by day it's fascinating what he's saying and then then he he this is the guy who was Shipwrecked three times had loads of lashes on him 5times 39 I can't work that out but it's a lot of lashes um he was in prison multiple times and this is what he says he says for he describes that as light and momentary troubles that's not light or momentary um in my mind but he says for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us (15:26) an eternal glory that far outweighs them all and so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but is what in what is unseen since what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal and that is a passage I could just dwell on and think about um what he's saying is whatever conditions he finds himself in he is able to find a great Peace by finding God and God's will in that situation by concentrating on the important things on that that is not temporary and not uh what's the word he says momentary troubles and light in in contrast to the (16:09) Eternal and the invisible and what's more is that it's not just a knowledge of God it's not just a knowledge of these things that Paul speaks about but it's an actual relationship with Jesus and this is my third point that contemptment is found in Christ it's found in Jesus what he's getting at is that contentment doesn't mean being strong it doesn't mean holding it all together it doesn't come from wealth or achieving success but it comes from knowing Christ and receiving Jesus in any situation whatever it is we're going through Jesus can meet that need and (16:46) it's what you know whatever is going on out there when we know whose we are when we know that we're Sons and Daughters of a living God of a loving father when we know that our purpose is to do his will and that that is the greatest this adventure to go on when we know where we are going that we are Heaven's citizens that we are only here for a small tiny po portion of existence that this is not our Dwelling Place when our hope is found in Jesus and his coming back you know when we know him personally then it doesn't matter what happens in our life it doesn't matter what happens these (17:22) things of Jesus these promises that he has they are constant they're the anchor that we can rely on and so for Paul he has learned that even in prison you know with death threats against him with being isolated being hungry it says as he fixes his eyes on Jesus as he fixes his eyes on the gospel the good news of Jesus and who he is in light of that that is able to keep his contentment and that is something as followers of Jesus we can learn about over time and it's the he holds Us in in the storm he holds Us in anything we're going through for (18:04) his glory and for our glory and there's another person in the Bible who has gone through a lot and uh you might have heard of David King David before he was King he was on the Run he was um being chased he had death threats against him people were literally trying to kill him and he he faced isolation and hunger himself this is what he writes in Psalm 23 a really fantastic Psalm he says the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing he makes me lie down in gev pastures he leads me beside Quiet Waters he refreshes my soul he guides me along the (18:43) right paths for his name's sake even though I walk through the darkest Valley I will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me and as we come to a finish I want to just give us one practical thing that we can take home from this teaching and it's something that we can do every day that might help us grow in our contentment and it's practicing gratitude and this is something that um is quite common in sort of popular thinking at the moment and has been for a number of years loads of books by non-christians about practicing (19:23) gratitude that leads to contentment and I don't know about you but um when it comes to people who are are thankful and practice gratitude it's often the older Generations my 9-year-old and seven-year-old don't say thank I'm I'm having to teach them to say thank you for the smaller things um but Paul is someone who knew God's grace in his life and he wrote 13 letters in the New Testament and he specifically gives thanks over 40 times for all sorts of different things to the Philip Philippians right at the beginning he says I thank my God every time I remember you Ephesians beginning of (20:00) Ephesians he says I have stopped giving I've not stopped giving thanks for you remembering you in my prayers and later in Ephesians he says always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and his attitude of thankfulness and gratitude was because he knew of the grace of God in his life wasn't it he knew firsthand that this was Paul he he used to be named Saul and this was he was the worst of sin he persecuted Christians he he wanted to put them in prison and he knew God had (20:37) taken his life from this situation where he was persecuting Christians to Turning him around turning his life around giving him a new name a new purpose a second chance and he couldn't help but give praise at opport at every opportunity and I love in the church we can we've got all sorts of practices of giving praise and thanks uh love worship singing worship songs because they just remind us of God's goodness you just put on a worship song and you're just like wow God look what you've done for me and (21:08) it just takes your situation and puts it in a whole new perspective I love saying grace just simple things at meal times and taking communion together um I at the beginning of my prayers always give thanks to God just for the Sun the Stars my the breath that he's given me and with my kids I'm just trying to um teach them at the end of each day just to give thanks before they go to bed and it's these simple things we can do that can help us um look at what God has done in our lives look at what God has given us in our lives that can lead us to be more content for our situations and so my (21:46) question as we kind of come to a finish now is what about you what does it look like to have gratitude and thankfulness feature in your day how might that lead to cultivating more of a heart that is content in any situation and as we close my prayer for us all is that wherever we're going through whatever the season we're in we would find a strength not from within uh our own sort of steeliness and let's just grit our teeth but we would find Jesus that wants to meet our need wants to meet us wherever we are and to bring us a reframe our situation wants to (22:25) bring us a peace and a contentment and that in in any situation we would learn what it is to give thanks that can lead to a greater contentment amen ohen wow that was a great talk from Jack I thought um just so so much in that such Rich content just a lot of stuff to think through around gratitude and thankfulness and being content what did you think Beth what what jumped out at you yeah it was great talk well done um I feel like I've got so many thoughts now that I'm like which one what do I start with um I mean like firstly I was like (23:14) really struck by the first like question like what makes you content because immediately I started thinking about oh I love doing this and all of these things and then I was like oh no wait hang on a moment yeah because we're not like I mean it's a really good question like what does make content because it it strikes me that we're not really a Content culture are we we're yeah our culture breeds discontent like advertising social media all of the stuff that are exposed all the time it's it's designed to make us feel uncontent (23:45) all day long so that we buy more stuff right that's how consumerism works so this is not easy stuff for us actually as a culture and a generation so yeah really really challenging stuff I think um and and it's a good question it's a good point start like what what are some of the ways that you practice contentment or how how do you find contentedness yeah I mean this is a really interesting topic for me at the moment because I've actually had a very like difficult couple of years like there's been a lot of stuff that has been happening that has not been good and even this week like something else happened I was like oh come on now and (24:24) I've like really been feeling like I'm walking in the wilderness but I love like someone in the building here tonight wrote a comment about it's encouraging that even if outwardly things aren't going well inwardly things can change and I do really feel like my relationship with Jesus is so different because of the last couple of years like it's so stronger um and I guess like for me like practicing contentment looks like worshiping no matter what's happening and um I was thinking this week that there's been times where I'm like I really just don't want to worship (24:57) Jesus right now I really don't want to I don't feel in that place but actually starting from there and being honest and being real that that's then sometimes the most powerful times of worship for me and Powerful times of prayer of like coming to things real and then really just trying to like press in and then that's when I really feel like Jesus speaks to me um yeah that that's really good I think I think it's um yeah it's it's really encouraging to hear and and I think that's the key about it's interesting you say that you've had a (25:29) hard season of life and that it's coming into its own because that that's what I found too like you don't learn how to practice contentment and gratitude and all things in an easy season of life right it gets tested when the chips are down and life actually starts to get hard so for me a few years ago like me and my husband went through a hard season of lots of loss in different ways in life and again I I had to get really practical and I'm really Chooser every day like I literally had a jour and was like today I'm choosing to be content (26:02) with what I have and grateful and thank God for the good things in my life and not focus on the things that I feel are lacking right now so I literally would write lists every day like three things a day that I'm thankful for go to God for and it was a real practice and discipline actually in that hard season of life and sometimes I think you really have to get like that don't you yeah because because sometimes obviously some seasons of Life gratitude comes easy and contentment is natural but when it chips (26:31) are down it's a real Choice isn't it yeah absolutely and I think like for me at the moment like I love what Jack said about your purpose and hope being in Jesus and that being your anchor and I feel like again kind of like similar to you that like every day at the moment I'm getting up and I'm like this is your day God like I'm giving this to you and I'm like submitting to you and I can only do this in your strength and I think that's just like something that I found really powerful almost like starting every day kind of in that way and reminding myself of that um yeah (27:06) yeah that's that's really good advice and I think I mean the other thing that strikes me about it as Jack was talking is that it's not necessarily being content in everything in terms of like oh we should just be content with really rubbishy situations CU I don't think that's what God wants for us like I think it's more of a learning to be content in the mid of difficult seasons of life not you know like there's that there's that passage in one Thessalonians 5 I think it is where it says um be grateful in all things and I (27:39) think it's like probably one of the most misused Christian like verses in the whole Bible people always say oh be you know be thankful in all things and and I feel like but why would you be thankful for rubbish situations like I don't necessarily think that's what Paul was doing like I don't think you know he was saying be thankful for awful things but he's like in the midst of awful things I can still be thankful because God and and there's a difference there isn't there as well yeah and I think like yeah like absolutely you've like really just like smash that there but is (28:16) but I think like this week I was thinking about kind of like why why do we be content in all situations and kind of I guess for those who might be thinking like what are you talking about like for me it's that thing of like like remembering that that God is worthy and like the deserving and what he's done and actually in this season REM like for Christmas like for me that is one thing that I constantly go back to was was like oh this is what Jesus did for us and this is what God did for us by sending his son for us um and so I think that's like something I keep going back (28:50) to of like remembering like the like how Worthy is worthy God is and just like turning to him in those Seasons yeah and it strikes me that's a really important point to make actually because you know we talk about we were just talking about about being a very consumeristic society that we live in where we're consumers and so we're kind of conditioned to want stuff and want more and you know better house bigger nicer car you know higher salary all these things and that that's kind of the ladder we're put on and and it strikes me that um yeah it's really it really (29:29) comes in the face of that doesn't it and actually it's it's like you know you can almost treat Christianity if you're not careful I think a bit like coming to God with a shopping list of wants and needs and like God I want this my life would be better if he did that like and we almost it can become very easy I think to actually come towards God like like a consumer relationship like these are the things I want from you here's my shopping list almost like a bit of like like you know it's December that our kids are wearing Santa lists at the (30:00) moment almost to come to God a bit like a Santa Claus character and like here's my list of things I've been really good like and actually you know that that is not what it's about it's like being content with what you have because actually what you have is everything because it's it's not the gifts that God gives but it's the giver himself like this is the thing I've really started to get my head around in the last few years of my walk with God that I don't really need anything else from God because he is the (30:30) gift he himself he's already given us the greatest thing himself and that's everything and so anything else is a bonus and I think that's what Paul had really grasped in in you know when he's writing these letters that you know not pursuing God for the gifts but actually realizing he is the gift um you know and he's The Giver is the gift yeah absolutely should we have a look at of the questions yeah what have people posted and also guys while we're talking just to say that um if you've got any questions or any thoughts as we're speaking now it's still not too late to post your comments um if you're watching (31:13) online yeah just post them in the chat box and we will try and pick them up so uh one really good question we've got here is how do we distinguish between contentment and the need to take action are there any situations where the Bible causes not to be content good to get your thoughts on that what do you think Beth that is a very good question do you like the fact I gave that one to you it's a hard one I know you totally just did that on purpose I'm now like racking my brain come on you're doing a theology course (31:50) at the moment I've only just started there it's okay um yeah I mean this is a great question and I think like just from like personal experience before we get on to the Bible um like there H there has been times where I've kind of been thinking oh do I just have to like let this be or do I think that like do something need to change or do like and I think in those moments it's kind of like the Holy Spirit nudges where I'm like okay this is this is something and like we we've got um my husband's changing job in the New Year and he's taking like a financial um that's going to take mean (32:32) that our finan is going to go down and like recently I just had that like nudge of like okay I need to change the nursery my youngest is going to just to like change our finances and up until that point I was like no I'm content with dealing with this however I trust God and I just thought like no actually this is God telling me to kind of make a change here to like take action in this situation and so I think that's kind of like like how I would distinguish it of like does that make sense yeah of kind (33:03) of the contentment and the action and but it is really sometimes very difficult to kind of like navigate that and that's sometimes where it's also helpful to have people around you to be kind of like sharing with and talking with and kind of like processing those things with um yeah yeah sometimes contentment does look like taking action doesn't it I think the financial one is a really good example actually like I've had times in life where it's like I've had opportunities to go for um like career jumps like you know promotions and it's just felt (33:40) like not a sense of Peace for me and and I've known that although it'd be financially great because we'd have even more money like that I know we've already got enough as a family to you know be comfortable and actually taking on more responsibility at work work would be a tradeoff with how much I could put into family and into other things like ding crowd and various other things that I serve with outside of work and so it's that thing of like am I content with what I have versus do I always feel this drive to need more want (34:16) more because that's what we're told we're meant to want but actually sometimes sitting back and sometimes there is a really active decision there isn't there to choose to be content with what you have and I'm not the hear me right I'm I'm not saying you shouldn't ever go for you know a promotion like sometimes that's an amazing opportunity but for me with a young family in that season of life again it wasn't the right thing to be doing um so sometimes it's just really hearing from God isn't it absolutely this is a good question (34:47) what is the difference between contentment and happiness is there a difference what do you think Beth I like how you're just like throwing all the questions at me straight yeah it's really nice [Laughter] um I think uh this is this is a really interesting question isn't it um and I think it goes back to that whole are you content in all situations of Life whatever you're kind of facing or are you and I think it it's like you doesn't mean you don't find things hard or you're not upset about things or angry about things but I guess like (35:25) contentment is deeper than that isn't it and I I think it um I think it's that thing when we talk about kind of like the joy of the Lord is our strength and um kind of that ability to worship no matter what's happening to be able to turn to God no matter what's happening and that's kind of where I kind of associate contentment with um yeah does that make sense yeah I think so I think I think you're right like happiness I mean that that's what it says in that passage isn't it that you know you can be content without having a happy situation like paull rights from prison (36:09) and in quite horrible situation so in that respect I'm sure he wasn't happy but he was content because he had what was really important which was and and also there's a thing between the sometimes I think there's a difference between the now and the kind of Eternal perspective as well like sometimes I think this is not the most happy scenario in the here and now but actually long term I've got a joy that surpasses understanding in the here and now and my circumstances in the present because I know eternally my destiny is secure in God (36:47) and that there's something longer term in the Eternal so sometimes I think having that Eternal perspective rather than that immediate one as a Christian is really helpful as well yeah absolutely uh does contentment mean giving up on goals or desires no I don't think so um yeah I know the example I just gave before was kind of but I don't think it is giving up on your dreams or hopes or goals and desires at all I think I think the Bible clearly teaches us that you should ask him you know ask knock seek you know that that's what Jesus says so I think God wants us to (37:30) come before him and to ask him for stuff and to seek Him and seek after him and seek things from him I don't think that's that's something that clearly we're taught to do in the Bible but I think yeah it's for me it's a lot to do with heart posture though it's like I don't need these things to be happy but also yeah it's I think it's human and it's natural to have needs and some times wants as well and that they're okay to have and to express before God but I think it's kind of for me it's the positioning it's like not putting them ahead of everything else but putting God first and then yeah does that make sense (38:14) kind of The Ordering of prioritization I guess yeah absolutely and I mean like I would yeah absolutely agree with you that it is just kind of turning to God turning to Jesus and kind of sharing your and desires and like seeing what he says I guess in that um and I mean interestingly like I studied dance and wanted to be a dancer I wanted to have a dance school I had all of these goals and desires I never knew that did you not no and but then I also felt this real calling to like um yeah going to church leadership and it's been a (38:50) journey and I'm here now um but it's kind of it's quite interesting that Journey that I've been on and sometimes I do have those moments like I was watching Strictly Come Dancing last night and I was like oh I feel a bit sad I like I miss dancing regularly and all that kind of thing and I know that I some someone once said to me like there was a reason why God called you to study dance and to do that and it will become clear at some point because otherwise like what would that that doesn't make any sense um and so I do I trust that (39:18) and I completely trust in God but I do agree with you that it is that kind of like priority isn't it of like what are you prioritizing first are you turning to Jesus first in everything and then the path becomes clear and that's kind of how it's happened in my life is that the path has just become clear um as I've been going through this journey and I think holding the outcome lightly as well is really important like something I've learned praying for things that are really important like you know like the last few years the the (39:46) journey that me and my husband have been on around infertility and not having as many children as we would have wanted we only had one um yeah on the one hand being incredibly grateful for that because our little boy is a complete miracle and that's the whole other story but um at the same time like you know longing to have a large family and not being able to do that and and then also getting to a point of Peace where you're like well it's not going to happen and sometimes the answer is like no or not yet from (40:22) God maybe that answer wasn't even from God maybe that's just the way life is you know some things don't work out the way way we hoped or planned or wanted and that's just part of being in this human broken world right illness disease things go wrong um we pray for healing and people still die those kind of hard questions and I think sometimes just being content that even when the answer doesn't look the way we want it God's still in control and that for me is contentment too like it my family Dynamic doesn't look the way I'd hoped it would but I'm still (40:58) content with what I have as well so sometimes it's that both end where it's yeah kind of EX you know being real about the fact that things aren't perfect it's not kind of this fluffy like oh yeah everything's fine but also a genuine contentment that you learn with what you have as well that actually what you have right now it's good like the family I've got is good and I am content with that um and sometimes it's process isn't it like I don't feel like I would have always been able to say that but I can sit here today and that's genuinely how I feel now so probably wouldn't of being right (41:36) in the middle of the journey but I so yeah sometimes contentment is process to learn as well yeah I mean one of the questions here is is contentment age related and I was thinking about this of like actually I feel like it's kind of a learn it's been for me a learned thing that it's taken years of kind of being on this Walk With Jesus that's got to me to this point where I feel like oh in this time I can still be content even though things are hard um so I do feel like it is a learned thing that over time that you do kind of find those ways (42:13) that you can still like press in and press into your relationship with Jesus and find that contentment even though things are hard yeah yeah I think I think that's really true and I don't think it's strictly an age thing like I don't think you automatically become more content as you get older I think it's a choice isn't it like if you press in and choose contentment and choose gratitude in the everyday and practice it then you become a more contented person right you you have to put in the work I think I don't think it's automatic like oh I'm old now so now I'm in my 40s I'm really content I don't (42:48) think that's how it works like I think you have to put in the work and I also think probably that there's probably es and flows like it goes up and down like seasons of more contentment then Seasons where that's I'm sure I've not learned I've learned this lesson once recently but I'm sure it's not the last time God will ask me to learn this lesson in my life so I feel like yeah it's probably like many lessons in life something that you'll revisit a number of times and have to learn in different ways and different seasons probably yes (43:20) absolutely um I'm just aware of time yeah so that's gone quickly time flies when you're having fumba it does you're right you are absolutely right um any last thoughts from you no just that I think it's a really really important subject to get to grips with and I just really want to encourage anyone who's struggling with it to just yeah take take that sense of discontent um before God and just be like God I want to be content in you and just yeah like it's it's definitely like you know be content with what there's (43:59) like that scripture in Hebrews that says be content with what you have because I've said I'll never leave you and forsake you so I think the answer to discontent is finding getting in the presence of God and discovering more of who God is so yeah I just encourage anyone who's watching to kind of press into God and spend time in his presence and read his word pray and just ask him to meet you where you are absolutely and if this week if you have any questions if you have any prayer requests um then please do send them to us hopefully the details will appear on the screen soon (44:37) um and you can follow us and you connect in with us um on our Instagram uh on Facebook through our website um and next week will be our Christmas service and we've got our very own Matt going to talk about home alone so it's not one very spiritual subject Home Alone we're doing next week yeah I can't wait I can't wait for that one either brilliant um so yeah anything else that just to say that anyone who wants to join us informally afterwards uh there's going to be an little online group where we just meet together and chat so if anyone's online and wants to (45:18) connect with us and chat more then stick around there should be a link in the chat box or coming up on the screen in a minute so yeah encourage you to do that if you're watching online at home absolutely well um it's great been great to have you with us um and yeah hopefully we'll see you next week take care have a good week everyone [Music] [Music] [Music]