Picking-up From Part 2 of the Series
My goal in this message is to pick-up where I left off from my previous two messages on overcoming obstacles to belief.
Quick Review of Parts 1 and 2
Today’s Study is Not Being Able or Willing to Find Contentment in YHVH
In today’s discussion I’ve chosen to look at an obstacle to belief that is closely related to the previous 3-obstacles we discussed: And that obstacle has to do with NOT being able or willing to find contentment in YHVH—contentment in Yah’s way of life and in the covenant relationship He has established with each of us—finding contentment in Messiah. And as you will hopefully see, I want to look at ancient Israel’s inability or unwillingness to find contentment—satisfaction—happiness in the covenant relationship she made with YHVH at the base of Mount Sinai. And what we will see in this study is that Israel’s refusal or inability to find contentment in YHVH blocked or hindered their ability to believe Yah. And in so doing, we will compare our present situation—life Walk in Messiah—and hopefully recognize how our inability to be content in Messiah blocks or hinders our belief or trust or faith, which often leads to behaviors that Yah does not appreciate and that adversely affects our relationship with Him and threatens our entry into the Kingdom of Yah.
And once we do all that, my goal is to explore with you and hopefully arrive at some solutions to overcoming our contentment issues.
Defining Biblical Contentment
I need you to recognize that Yah requires each of us to find contentment in the life He has given us and that being content in that covenant relationship we share with YHVH is critical—vital to our ability and willingness to believe Yah—to trust Him.
Now, just so we’re all on the same page (so to speak) regarding what biblical contentment means, let’s define the word “content” or “contentment.”
In Hebrew, to be content or contentment is “ya’al” which means “to shew a willingness; to be pleased; to be determined; to undertake to do (TWOT).
Believe it or not, we need to break this word down even more. The term ya’al is an action word (a verb) that describes the making of a volitional decision (I.e., a “will power” which means the power of using one’s will) to commence a given activity.
Finding Contentment According to the Hebrew Mindset is a Volitional Act
What do I mean by making a volitional decision to commence a given activity. Simply this: When it comes to being in a covenant relationship (in agreement) with the Almighty—that we are going to do things according to His Way—we’re going to act in accordance to His Will and purpose—we make a conscious, firm decision to do that very thing. And in making that volitional decision—that voluntary act of one’s will to embark—to walk in covenant relationship with the Almighty—leads one to find fulfillment and even pleasure in their decision and commitment to a life of service and worship. Nothing else can sway you from your decision to walk out this Faith.
Contentment Versus Not Being Content
And what we will find in our study of our ancient Hebrew cousins is that they could not or would not find contentment in their chosen status as Yah’s elect people.
You see, on the one hand, when we’re content with our lives, we are naturally compelled to stay within the framework and provisions necessary to maintaining that life. In other words, when we make the conscious decision to follow Yah and His Ways, we are required to do what it takes to make the Almighty happy. And when Yah is happy with us, He blesses us and we by default find contentment in YHVH and in His Way of life. When we enter into that covenant relationship with YHVH, we no longer live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the Eternal’s mouth. We find contentment in His Ways and in the life He has given us.
But then on the other hand, when we’re discontent with our life in Messiah, our focus is turned away from YHVH and His ways, and onto the things that we believe will bring about contentment in our lives. In other words, we do things or seek out the things that we believe will bring about contentment in our lives, and in so doing, we turn our backs to Yah and abandon His Ways for the things Babylon has to offer us.
Contentment in Relation to Being Inwardly Versus Outwardly and Upwardly Focused
The other thing about being content that we have to be conscious of is that our contentment or lack thereof will either be inwardly focused or YHVH-Yeshua-focused. What am I talking about?
We will see that our ancient Hebrew cousins could not or would not find contentment in being YHVH’s chosen people as the marriage covenant spelled out. Remember that the marriage covenant between YHVH and Israel clearly spelled out that if Israel would simply obey YHVH’s voice and keep the provisions of the marriage agreement YHVH would give to them during their transit to the Promised Land, they would be YHVH’s treasured possession among all the peoples of the earth. And upon hearing this, the people verbally agreed to the terms of the marriage agreement, but their actions betrayed their commitment to that covenant. For the truth of the matter was that the people had eyes and hearts for their former lives as slaves to the Egyptians. In fact, the people stated that they were content living lives of servitude in Egypt and having all the things that came along with that life. You see, their contentment was inwardly focused (it was all about what they wanted). The contentment that Father was expecting from the people was one of being outwardly and upwardly focused (that everything would be about YHVH and His Ways). The ancient Hebrews were only responding to the life that the world seeks to establish and maintain: to have—to acquire the things that life has to offer—to have a full belly—to have the things that satisfy this body and that makes us happy. It’s fulfilling our wants and perceived needs. In fact, these are the things that hasatan uses to take our eyes off of Yah and His Ways and put them onto ourselves and the things of this world that he has to offer to any who would give their lives over to him. Of this the Apostle John (aka Yochanan wrote):
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
What we see here is that the first step required for being content in YHVH is to fall out of love with this world, but instead, to fall in love with YHVH and His ways.
Continuing:
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of Yah abideth forever” (1 John 2:15-17).
The life of contentment that the covenant between Yah and His elect were being called to live and walk out was meant to be an outwardly and upwardly focused life: a life that was focused on Yah and His Ways. Yet the people were not capable of overcoming the lust of the flesh, the eyes and the pride of life because they loved the world, but did not truly love the Eternal.
And it was because of this heartbreaking reality that Father lamented:
“O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever” (Deuteronomy 5:29).
Is Contentment Important to our Faith Walk?
Who here believes as I do that it is important to find and be content in our Faith and in our relationship with the Almighty?
And why is it important to our relationship with the Almighty that we be content in Him and in His Ways—Yah’s Way of Life?
Because when we are not content to be in that exclusive covenant relationship with Yah but are instead drawn to other relationships and things, it’s only natural for people to go a lusting—a whoring after other things that Yah does not approve of.
Yeshua’s Instructions That Lead to Contentment
But Yeshua gave the solution to one’s lack of contentment in Faith when He instructed His disciples to simply “seek first the Kingdom of Yah and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). And I say that this is the epitome—rather the basis–of finding true and lasting contentment in one’s Faith walk. And when one is willing to do this very thing: seek after Yah—diligently seek after Yah and His Ways—then everything else in the elect’s life will be taken care of.
Now, I didn’t say this: Yahoshua said this. Yet, I bet you dollars to a donut here today, there are some who will hear this message who will not accept this simple, central truth of our Faith. They, like our ancient Hebrew cousins before us, are unwilling to seek after that covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe because it requires them to give up everything for Him. And that’s something the average human being is frankly unwilling to do. The Babylon that exists in many of us calls out loudly from within us and it gets in the way of our committing fully to the Eternal’s demands that we love Him with all our heart, soul and mind (Deuteronomy 6:5). And for many of us, that committing of our full self to the Eternal is not appealing enough to overcome or replace the lure of Babylon.
Our Faith is an Acquired Taste (So to Speak)
The challenge that the elect of Yah faces in his or her covenant relationship with the Almighty is that this Way of Life is an acquired taste. It is in fact a Way of Life that is contrary to the desires—the taste—or rather the preferred ideals of people.
The Prophet Isaiah echoed the Words of the Almighty when He wrote:
“For my thoughts are NOT your thoughts, neither are your ways My Ways, saith YHVH. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My Ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (55:8-9).
As we all know, the natural inclination of human beings is to seek out and live lives that appeal to their personal sense of wellbeing, importance, pleasure, happiness, etc. Virtually every single person on the planet with the exception of a small handful are actually willing to die to self and be in full covenant relationship with the Creator of the Universe.
Of this Isaiah wrote:
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to His own way; and YHVH hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (53:6).
Of ancient Israel’s refusal to find contentment in His Way of Life, Father stated:
“I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense unto altars of brick; which remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; which say, ‘Stand by thyself, come not near to Me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in My nose, a fire that burneth all the day” (65:1-5).
Ancient Israel Consisted of a People Who Were Not Content With Their Chosen Status
These, and so many other similar passages in the books of the prophets, tell of a people who were not content to establish and maintain a true covenant relationship with the Almighty. They all agreed to the covenant agreement that Father put forth to them at Sinai, but they somehow, along the way, when things got a little challenging (e.g., lack of water; lack of food; wandering about in the wilderness with no relief in sight; frightened of giants and the inhabitants of the promised land; not trusting nor happy with the leadership Yah put over them), it became impossible for them to find contentment in their lives.
And so by their not seeing beyond their circumstances and not being fully committed to the end game as it related to fulfilling their end to the covenant they made with YHVH, they were incapable or simply refused to be content in their elect status as Yah’s chosen people. So they murmured; they turned to worshiping and believing so-called gods that were not God; they longed for their past, despite their past not being good for them.
And what ended up happening to these 2 or so million souls? They ended up dying in the wilderness—every one of them with the sole exceptions of Caleb and Yahshua (Joshua).
Are Not Many of Us Like Ancient Israel When It Comes to Contentment?
Are not many of us just like our ancient Hebrew cousins? We sign up for this Faith of ours, most us very much aware of what was required of us when we agreed to enter into the covenant relationship with the Eternal. And in the beginning, that covenant relationship was like a honeymoon period for many of us. Oh how we loved the Faith once delivered. We loved hearing about Jewish things and history and words; we loved the idea of doing Jewish celebrations and festivals. We were so happy to dabble in the eating of clean foods and keeping the weekly Sabbath. So we were content to thumb our noses at our former lives.
Oh, but when things got a little challenging for us—when it came time to actually keep the weightier matters of Yah’s Way of Life that Master criticized the Pharisees for not doing (Matthew 23:23), well, we start to be discontented with that covenant life:
- In our relationships with other people: we desire to have certain relationship with others that violate Yah’s Torah and Way of Life.
- We want to engage in activities that violate Yah’s Covenant Way of Life.
- We see how happy people outside our Faith Community appear to be and we want to have some of what they have…I mean, we’re supposed to have life and have it more abundantly right? So we start to rationalize and ask ourselves: Why must I be deprived of those things? The boyfriends or girlfriends; the shacking up; the clubbing on Friday evenings; the birthday parties on Sabbaths; Christmas trees and Easter egg hunts for the kids; the stuff that makes for the good life. Why can’t I have some of that we rationalize?
Has the Appeal of our Faith Faded in Your Life?
Somehow, the shine and appeal of the Faith that we decided to enter in to some time ago, isn’t what it used to be. We’re no longer content with the life that Abba has given to us as His elect; as His beloved. In some cases, we even despise that life—that covenant relationship we once sought to have with the Creator of the Universe, because like our ancient Hebrew cousins, it appears to us in some crazy warped way, that Yah has it out for us and He’s cruel and unreasonable in His expectations of us to be tied down to His stringent and unreasonable ways. To some of us, it seems as though Yah brought us all the way out to where we find ourselves today, the wilderness of modern western life, to be slaughtered and killed by our enemies; to turn His back on us and abandon us in this wilderness. So we feel we deserve better—better than what Yah is offering to us.
So many of us reach a place in our Faith walk where we stop believing Yah and we start believing the world; we start believing ourselves; we start believing the voice of the enemy who has come along in our lives with the same lie that he told Eve in the Garden:
On the day you eat of this fruit that I’m offering you (I’m paraphrasing), you shall be as gods (elohims) knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). And you know what, you won’t die as the Almighty told you at the start of that covenant agreement He made with you. In fact you’ll be better off than you were during the time you spent in the Faith. You see, you can have it all. And God simply wants to keep the good things of this life away from you. But you have the power within your grasp to deny Him the pleasure of withholding those good things from you. You simply have to give a little to gain a lot. Oh you can keep some of the things you like about your Faith—it’s all good. But there’s no need for you to give up the good life. Compromise is fine, because in the end, God knows your heart. Oh yes, you mean well. And God will come over to your side because He’s so desperate to have you as His child. Right?
Eve’s Deception Points to a Lack of Contentment
Eve was deceived by the cunning words of the serpent. And so she was able to rationalize in her mind that she was not content to remain one of two humans Yah had installed on this planet to image, serve and worship Him alone. Somehow, something clicked within her that brought about a sense of discontentment in the life she and Adam were leading in the Garden. It sounded very appealing to her to be as gods—as the elohim that she and Adam no doubt saw scampering about them during their time in the garden. She saw something in them that she wanted and the serpent made having what those elohim had worth the consequences that would come with transgressing the Creator’s Torah.
Adam, he was just stupid. He knew better. He wasn’t deceived. Adam chose to be a follower. I would imagine that Adam was probably content with his position in the Creator’s kingdom here on earth—in the Garden at that time. But he chose to follow his wife’s lead and transgress Yah’s Torah. And look where that foolishness got him and the whole of mankind: death and separation from the Creator of the Universe.
Examples of Ancient Israel’s Lack of Contentment
Throughout the Old Testament (aka Tanach), we find numerous examples of where the ancients failed to find contentment in their chosen status as Yah’s elect.
The Revolt of Korah, Dathan and Abiram as recorded in Numbers 16
”And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and YHVH is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of YHVH?’ And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face…” (verses 3-4).
Clearly, these men were not content in their calling as Levites and servants of Yah. They coveted something that was not theirs to possess. They were discontent in their Levitical roles of erecting and transporting the Tabernacle during the nation’s journeys. They wanted to be the shot callers like Moses and Aharon. And ultimately, these individual’s discontentment led to their death:
“And Moshe said, ‘Hereby ye shall know that YHVH hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then YHVH hath not sent me. But if YHVH make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked YHVH.’ And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under then: and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them; and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, ‘lest the earth swallow us up also.’ And there came out a fire from YHVH, and consumed the 250 men that offered incense” (verses 28-35).
Aharon and Miriam Lack of Contentment in their Leadership Roles–Numbers 12
”And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman who he (Moshe) had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And they said, ‘Hath YHVH indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath He not spoken also by us?’ And YHVH heard it” (verses 1-2).
And of course, we know the rest of the story: Aharon and Miriam and Moshe are all called out to the front of the Tent of Meeting and Yah says to the three of them:
“Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I YHVH will make myself known unto Him in a vision, and will speak unto Him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitudes of YHVH shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant Moses” (verses 6-8)?
And then we find after YHVH’s departure from their presence that Miriam is struck with leprosy and Aharon is put into the embarrassing place of having to eat crow and plead with Moses to petition the Almighty to have mercy and spare Miriam’s life, which of course, Yah does in fact spare Miriam’s life; but not till after Miriam had time to learn her lesson by being quarantined outside the camp for a week.
Manna For Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner and Contentment
And in Numbers 11 we come across the story of our ancient Hebrew cousins murmuring and complaining about having to eat manna for breakfast, lunch and dinner; and their longing for their prior lives of abject servitude. And the peoples’ murmuring and complaining led to Father giving them quail to eat. But the people could not even handle the gift of quail in an appreciative manner, prompting a plague to break out upon the ungrateful people before they could even bite into their first quail meals.
The issue at hand here is that of finding contentment in YHVH and in His Ways. And the question surrounding this issue is: Can Yah’s people learn to be content with that which Yah gives them in the midst of them trusting Him to provide for all their needs? For each of us, the issue of contentment affects many areas of our lives:
- Material possessions such as cars and homes and jewelry
- Careers
- Station in life (i.e., being rich versus being poor; being well-to-do versus just scraping by; etc)
- Notoriety and fame
- Family and other social relationships
- Food
- Personal health
Here in the 11th Chapter of Numbers, the central thing that our ancient Hebrew cousins longed for that they strongly felt would bring them contentment at that in their journey, was food: let’s just say something other than manna. So as Father fulfilled their cravings by giving them an over-abundance of quail, the people’s greed could not be contained and they sought to stock up on the quail that was delivered by Yah to the nation by hoarding it in and around the camp. What they thought would make them content turned out to not be the thing that would bring them contentment. In fact, their search to fulfill their cravings and make them content in the form of meat led to a display of greed, which is a sin. And the lesson that this story must convey to any with eyes to see and ears to hear is that true contentment in the lives of Yah’s people comes only when the child of the Most High fully gives over their heart and life to Yah and His Ways. Then and only then can Yah’s elect find true contentment. For desires and cravings cannot truly be fulfilled without Yah being the central focus of one’s life.
Contentment That is Not Directly Tied to our Relationship With YHVH
Outside of Yah, in time, one will grow tired of that thing that they thought would bring them contentment. And eventually one who has grown tired of the thing that he or she thought would make them content will seek out those things they believe will satisfy their flesh. And in the process of searching to fulfill those fleshly cravings and desires, he or she will risk violating Yah’s principles and ways–such as we see displayed here in our Reading.
But know that when one turns their full attention to Yah and His Ways, he or she will find ultimate contentment. And when one finds their contentment in Yah, he or she will in turn glorify and image YHVH in all the earth.
Contentment’s Direct Link to the Heart of Yah’s Elect
When we talk about being content in our Faith or finding contentment in YHVH and His Way of life, we come to realize that this is really a heart thing. For when one’s whole heart is given over to YHVH, such that they place their trust in Him, trusting that He will do all that He says he’ll do; and he or she falls in loves with YHVH with every fiber of their being, they will find true contentment in life. How does that work? Because all of their cravings and desires will be replaced by the things and provisions of Yah. And those once held carnal cravings and desires become nothing more than fading memories and passing thoughts in the mind of the elect.
A well known Jewish prayer captures this idea of contentment in the Ways and Person of Yah quite well:
“Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, Who has given me everything I need” (Hegg).
Shaul echoed this same sentiment when he wrote to the Philippian Assembly of Messianics:
“My El will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Mashiyach Yeshua” (4:19).
Contentment Found in the Knowledge That YHVH Will Provide For Our Every Need
You see, this is the entire point behind Master’s instruction to His disciples that they seek first the Kingdom of Yah and His righteousness; and then while in the midst of doing that very thing, Yah will fulfill all His elects’ needs (Matt. 6:33). Prior to this direct instruction by our Master to his loyal disciples (most believe that Yeshua gave this message to a throng of 1,000’s from a mount or hill, but in reality, Master gave this message only to those disciples of His that were willing to climb to the top of the mount and hear the eternal words of the Son of the Most High), He instructed them to:
“Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on…take no thought, saying, ‘What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:25-32).
Contentment Found in the Reality of Trust in YHVH
So the billion dollar question facing each of us is, can we bring ourselves in this day and age and within our respective life-situations to do this very thing: Trust in Yah to do what He says He will do and then be content in Yah?
Had the ancients done that very thing–turning their eyes, hearts, minds and souls to Yah, being fully committed to Yah’s plan for them, Yah’s daily supply of manna would have more than satisfied them as they sojourned in the wilderness. How? Because they would find contentment in Yah and His Ways: their focus in life would shift entirely from that of their stomachs to that of Yah and his Ways. This same principle certainly can and should apply to each of us today: as we give our all to Yah and Walk in His Ways, all of the stuff we craved in our former lives will have (or should have) no power over us. We will come to the inevitable conclusion that Abba has attended to all our needs, and thus, we find ourselves in a state of true contentment and peace in Yah’s eternal provision. That contentment and peace must come with thanksgiving and praise from the contented soul.
The writer of Psalm 37:4 provides us clarity on this issue:
“Delight thyself also in YHVH; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto YHVH; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (KJV).
Contentment in YHVH Orders our Walk in Messiah
This contentment in Yah is the thing that orders our steps in everyday life. It directs how we deal with challenges in our lives. Thus, we are able to handle the bad things that come along in our lives in such a way that we are not anxious for our own well-being, but instead our concern is to please and bring glory and honor to YHVH. Father takes over and makes things work the way they’re supposed to work in our lives: all in accordance with His perfect will.
Figuring Out How to be Content in YHVH
So we must figure out how to be content in the life Yah has given to us and to also deny the ourselves of the fleshly life that naturally—carnally appeals to us.
When we are not content in our Faith walk–when the manna loses its appeal and doesn’t satisfy–when the leadership says and does something that we don’t like or want–when we don’t have the things of life that we feel would make us happy, we look for ways to buck Yah’s prescribed Way of Life in a desperate attempt to find contentment. That lack of contentment effectively forms an obstacle to believing Yah and having that substantive, covenant relationship with Him because we take our eyes off of Him and turn them on to ourselves and on to other things not related to Yah.
Contentment Begins With Bringing a Malleable Heart and Contrite Spirit to YHVH
Finding true contentment must always begin with a malleable heart and a contrite (a stricken) spirit. There must be a willingness to endure whatever life throws at us, for this is the one who Abba looks upon and who Father draws close to and who finds true contentment in their lives–contentment in their covenant relationship with the Almighty:
“Thus saith YHVH, ‘The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith YHVH: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite (a stricken or smitten) spirit, and trembleth at My word’” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
The Psalmist wrote:
“The sacrifices of Yah are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O Yah, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
Folks, did you catch what the psalmist wrote: finding true covenant relationship and contentment in YHVH and His Ways is a volitional–determined–conscious decision that is likened unto a sacrifice. A sacrifice means nothing to the offerer unless it cost him or her something. And when we give over our whole self to Yah and determine within our being that we will serve the Eternal, and if it comes down to it, the earth be damned, and we will not compromise our relationship with the Creator for anything Babylon has to offer. Furthermore, Father is looking for us to be in a state of being that can be worked—fashioned–molded. Unfortunately, our ancient Hebrew cousins were a stiffnecked and rebellious lot that refused to be molded by YHVH. This is the lesson we must learn if we intend to find true contentment in YHVH.
Contentment in YHVH is a Conscious Decision to Do Things in our Lives According to YHVH’s Way
It’s making the conscious decision that our immediate happiness and preferences mean nothing to us. It comes down to a conscious decision that I’m going to do whatever it takes to please Yah, even if it kills me.
It was Master, just before His Passion that He prayed to His Father:
“…Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
Friends, there’s nothing wrong with asking Father for something we desire, as long as it doesn’t violate His Torah. But when Yah says no, then it’s no. And when no is made clear to us, we must not become as petulant children and pout and rant and rave that we aren’t getting what we want from Father. We must learn to say it is well with our soul in every applicable circumstance.
Contentment in YHVH Found in the Story of a Popular Christian Hymn
Most of us who have been in Faith or in organized church or fellowship any length of time are familiar with the Christian hymn: “It is Well with my Soul”—(It happens to be one of my all-time favorite hymns.) Well, do you know the history of that hymn? It’s quite a touching story.
The song is a hymn written by Horatio Gates Spafford, an American lawyer, also a Presbyterian church elder and hymnist of the 1860’s and 70’s. He was married to Anna Larsen of Norway. The couple purchased a home in Chicago. Two tragedies struck the couple: They lost their 4-year old son to Scarlet fever and they lost their home to the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. Seeking to give the family a rest from these 2-tragic events, the couple planned a trip to Europe for themselves and their 4-surviving daughters. Well, a sudden business issue arose, requiring Horatio to remain behind while Anna and their 4-daughters went ahead to Europe on November 21, 1873. On November 25th of 1873, during transit across the Atlantic, the ship that Anna and her 4-daughters were on collided with another vessel, causing the vessel that Anna and her daughters were on to sink within minutes of the collision. The 4-daughters were lost in the sinking. Only Anna survived. She was rescued and taken to Wales, arriving 9-days later. Anna telegramed Horatio with the simple but horrific message: “Saved alone, what shall I do?” In response to Anna’s telegram, Horatio set out to join Anna in their grief. And as the ship Horatio sailed upon passed near the place where his daughters had died, he penned the following:
“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought; my sin, not in part but the whole. Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more; praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul. And Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight; the clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul. It is well (it is well); with my soul (with my soul). It is well; it is well, with my soul.”
Ultimately Horatio and Anna had 3-more children. But tragedy once more struck the Spafford family, this time with the loss of their son Horatio Goertner Spafford to Scarlet fever at the age of 4. Nevertheless, the couple relocated to Jerusalem and devoted the rest of their lives to ministry. And Horatio died from malaria at the age of 59 on October 16, 1888.
You see, Horatio, like our Master Yeshua, made a conscious decision to find contentment in the Eternal. Oh, Horatio may not have been a feastkeeper or Sabbath-keeper, but he certainly knew which side his spiritual bread was buttered.
True Contentment in YHVH Found in the Life Example of Job
Job made a similar commitment to be content in YHVH. Here was a man who lost virtually everything he had—the things that were near and dear to him. But despite his wife telling him to curse Yah and die, and his buddies telling him his life was over because he messed up and pissed off YHVH, Job made one of the most profound statements of contentment to be found in Scripture:
“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him: but I will maintain mine own ways before Him” (13:15; KJV).
It doesn’t get any clearer than that.
The Ball’s in our Court as it Relates to Contentment
What these and so many other examples in scripture show us is that at some point each of us must make a conscious decision to find rest and contentment in YHVH; that at some point in our walk we must come to recognize that nothing else in this life matters. This life is temporal. Things of this life satisfy for only such a time where we once again long or desire something more or greater than that which we originally had. At some point we will be forced to recognize after we suffer failure and set-back after failure and set-back that there is no true contentment in this life outside of YHVH and His Way of Life. And we’re fooling ourselves thinking we can serve two masters. It falls to each of us to choose this day whom we will serve.
Joshua, no doubt operating under the power and might of the Holy Spirit made this profound statement to Yah’s people at the renewal of the Covenant that was once broken:
“Now therefore fear YHVH, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye YHVH. And if it seem evil unto you to serve YHVH, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH” (Joshua 24:14-15).
It’s recognizing and embracing the fact that the life we have really doesn’t belong to us.
Shaul (aka Paul) wrote to the Assembly of Messianic believers in Corinth:
“What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have of Yah, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify Yah in your body, and in your spirit, which are Yah’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
We Have Been Bought with a Price and We are not Our Own
Our lives either belong to YHVH or to some other god that offers us fruit from the tree of good and evil. Folks, this life does not offer any true, free lunches. Whichever God we choose to serve, it’s going to cost us something. In fact, it’s going to cost us everything, one way or another. So we are then forced to make that conscious, volitional—conscious decision—determined decision which way, like Joshua, we’re going to go. And if we go with YHVH, it’s got to be His way or it’s got to be His way. We must choose to find contentment in Him and in His Ways. And when we are successful at doing that very thing, we will believe Yah and as a byproduct of finding our everlasting portion in YHVH our Elohim, we will live the life abundant that Yeshua promised we’d have. If we but take the first step of seeking Yah’s kingdom and His righteousness, Father promised that He will look after the cares of this life for us.
And when we come to terms that our life is truly not our own, and the blinders are removed from our spiritual eyes and minds, we also come to terms that Yah truly has plans and desires to prosper us.
Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon the following:
“For thus saith YHVH: That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,’ saith YHVH; ‘thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart (theres that heart thing again—Father really focuses on the state of His peoples’ hearts) (29:10-13).
Comparing and Contrasting Finding Contentment in YHVH to Finding Contentment in the World
Now, compare and contrast this with the plans of the enemy for those who choose to go with him and follow his ways:The plans of the enemy are truly meant to destroy us little by little:
“The thief (I.e., “kleptes”–the pilferer; the embezzler) cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” (John 10:10).
Our lack of contentment should only be found in our constant search and effort to please Yah better than the day before. To reach deeper depths and higher heights in Messiah (Ephesians 3:18). To reach friend status with the Almighty. To make it into the Kingdom of YHVH. And these can only be achieved when we have the obstacles to our belief/faith removed.
I’m reminded of a popular song from the 1970’s Broadway musical “Godspell” that went something like this:
“Day by Day…Day by Day…Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray: To see thee me clearly…Love thee more dearly…Follow thee more nearly, day-by-day.”
Oh to have that level of contentment, wouldn’t you say?
We Must Draw Nigh to YHVH to Find True Contentment in Him
James instructed his readers to:
“Draw nigh to Yah and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (4:8).
Father put into place the means by which we can find true contentment in life. And all Father is asking us to do is to make the conscious decision to turn to Him and seek after Him. And if we’re willing to do that, He will draw Himself to us, His beloved (Zechariah 1:3) and we will find true contentment in Him and His Way of Life.
You see, the ancients were incapable of finding true contentment in their covenant relationship with YHVH because they would not abandon the Egypt that resided in them. So their eyes and heart always remained in Mitsriam (aka Egypt) along with her idols and leeks and melons and garlic and flesh pots. Yah’s amazing manna would never satisfy them. Yah’s month supply of quail would never please them. They wanted things done their way and so they were never satisfied with the organizational structure Yah put in place. They wanted more prestige; more privileges. So they refused to abandon their stubbornness and rebellious ways; they wanted things their way.
A Lack of Contentment Forms an Obstacle to One’s Faith
Their lack of contentment in YHVH and His Ways hindered or blocked their ability to believe Yah, and thus, they never made it into the Land of Promise.
Fortunate for us, we have their example to help us overcome that obstacle to belief. And from their example, all we need to do is decide and make the conscious decision to believe and be content in His Ways.
The Case for Finding True Contentment in YHVH and in His Ways
“Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Master Yeshua Messiah, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with content is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:1-12; KJV).
“But I rejoiced in YHVH greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Messiah which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:10-13; KJV).
“Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he that said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:1-6; KJV).
We Can Do All Thing in Messiah Which Strengtheneth Us
We can do this. As Shaul stated, “we can do all things through Messiah which strengtheneth us.” We simply have to take the first step and believe and then secondly, find contentment in Him and in Him alone.
Devour His Word—Pray without ceasing—Fasting as so led—Pushing to see beyond our present circumstances to the glorious promises our Father has in store for us.
And with that, we’ll bring this installment of TMTO to an end. It is always my prayer and hope that you got something out of this discussion and that you’ll be led to conduct your own meditative and prayerful study of the things we discuss on this forum.
Abba willing, we’ll return next week with a new installment of The Messianic Torah Observer. So, until then, may you be most blessed fellow saints in training. Shalom. Take care.