Discontentment
“13Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favour in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favour in Your sight…15And Moses said to Him, “If Your presence does not go [with me], do not lead us up from here.”
Exodus 33:13; 15
The one thing that hindered the Israelites the most when they were led out of Egypt on their journey to the Promised Land was discontentment. Do not look at the Israelites as the unwise people far removed from you, but be vulnerable, knowing that this is a trap you might have stepped in and very well have to pray against.
They were not content with God’s presence alone. They had a perspective of being content and praising God as long as He was doing what they wanted Him to do, when they wanted it to be done.
There is much to be learnt from the journey of the Israelites. The Israelites’ hope was built on the blessings of God and every time trials came their way, they would doubt God’s plan and promises for them. They would immediately tell Moses that they should have stayed in Egypt and that it was better for them there. They would complain, turn away from God and experience much discontentment.
Moses on the other hand was actually given the place of being a prince in Pharaoh’s house, Pharaoh’s grandson, but he chose to rather be a part of God’s people even if it meant giving up all the blessings and enduring suffering. Moses would rather have God’s presence than blessings apart from His presence.
When the staples of our contentment are the blessings and the dictates of our flesh – we should not wonder why we have no desire or hunger for the deeper things of the Holy Spirit. When that is the case we will constantly feel hungry and have to be fed over and over again with the fleeting things of this world which only temporarily satisfy us and leave us empty or worse off afterwards. It keeps one in a place of easily fading happiness, inconsistent worldly peace and wavering hope.
The only way to be truly satisfied is when we know that God is our life source and our reason for living. Then we are able to be fully content no matter our circumstances. For in Him, we find all our souls long for. When we turn away from the worldly satisfactions and towards Him, we find our missing piece is found and the void we used to feel is suddenly overflowing with God Himself.
