Mrs Jessica Southards
Associate Pastor's Wife
Bible Baptist Church
Radcliff, KY
BE CONTENT WITH YOUR MAGNOLIA TREE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***When I was first asked to do the devotion for this week, I was going to talk about foster care and adoption and how it’s touched our family. I was going to talk about the great need for good, Christian foster/adopt parents and for church support in the foster/adopt world. God sent me in a different direction, but I would be happy to talk to anyone about these subjects!***
Fall is here! I love this time of year. The cool crisp air, the smell of wood burning, PUMPKIN SPICE... and, of course, the beautiful, changing leaves. God’s paintbrush in the Fall is just incredible. The street on which we live is surrounded by trees. A few weeks ago they all turned beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. My neighbor has a huge tree in their front yard that turned several shades of red. It was so gorgeous and I had a serious case of jealousy for that tree. Ha! I would drive by that yard every day and wish that I had that beautiful view from my front window. I had a magnolia tree. I love my magnolia tree, but its leaves didn’t change. It was still green. I would have loved to look out my window and seen a beautiful, red tree. A couple of weeks ago I left my house and, like I always did, I looked over at that beautiful, red tree. Guess what? It’s leaves were gone. They had all fallen to the ground and there it stood, its branches bare, but my tree is still beautiful and green. God spoke to me that morning and reminded me of the principle of contentment. In Hebrews 13:5, the Bible says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as he have:” I think that contentment is something that we all struggle with at some point in our life. Maybe we struggle to be content with the home we have. Maybe someone just got a new car and you’re still driving the same car you’ve had for 10 years. Maybe everyone around you is getting married and you are struggling to be content in your single life. Maybe it seems like all of your friends are pregnant, and your arms ache to hold a child of your own (I know this one all too well). All of these things can cause great heartache. I truly believe that you can go to God about these hurts and ask, even beg, for Him to fulfill our desires. In fact, the Bible says in Philippians 4:6,” but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” God wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to tell him of our desires, but do you notice that he says “with Thanksgiving”? I think thankfulness and contentment go hand in hand. Contentment is so much more easily attained when we realize all that God has done for us and are truly thankful.
***When I was first asked to do the devotion for this week, I was going to talk about foster care and adoption and how it’s touched our family. I was going to talk about the great need for good, Christian foster/adopt parents and for church support in the foster/adopt world. God sent me in a different direction, but I would be happy to talk to anyone about these subjects!***
Fall is here! I love this time of year. The cool crisp air, the smell of wood burning, PUMPKIN SPICE... and, of course, the beautiful, changing leaves. God’s paintbrush in the Fall is just incredible. The street on which we live is surrounded by trees. A few weeks ago they all turned beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow. My neighbor has a huge tree in their front yard that turned several shades of red. It was so gorgeous and I had a serious case of jealousy for that tree. Ha! I would drive by that yard every day and wish that I had that beautiful view from my front window. I had a magnolia tree. I love my magnolia tree, but its leaves didn’t change. It was still green. I would have loved to look out my window and seen a beautiful, red tree. A couple of weeks ago I left my house and, like I always did, I looked over at that beautiful, red tree. Guess what? It’s leaves were gone. They had all fallen to the ground and there it stood, its branches bare, but my tree is still beautiful and green. God spoke to me that morning and reminded me of the principle of contentment. In Hebrews 13:5, the Bible says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as he have:” I think that contentment is something that we all struggle with at some point in our life. Maybe we struggle to be content with the home we have. Maybe someone just got a new car and you’re still driving the same car you’ve had for 10 years. Maybe everyone around you is getting married and you are struggling to be content in your single life. Maybe it seems like all of your friends are pregnant, and your arms ache to hold a child of your own (I know this one all too well). All of these things can cause great heartache. I truly believe that you can go to God about these hurts and ask, even beg, for Him to fulfill our desires. In fact, the Bible says in Philippians 4:6,” but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” God wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to tell him of our desires, but do you notice that he says “with Thanksgiving”? I think thankfulness and contentment go hand in hand. Contentment is so much more easily attained when we realize all that God has done for us and are truly thankful.
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