Are You
  Content?
 

Contentment.  The word sounds great just to hear.  It brings up all kinds of feelings and visions of being happy and satisfied, the world being perfect.  But contentment from God isn’t based on perfect surroundings or when we feel like being content.  Contentment isn’t an emotion that we can toss around and have it just when we decide it’s best.  Contentment comes from God.  Because of that it’s deep within us.  So ask yourself, "Am I content?"  If not, then God can help you get down to the core of what is robbing you of your contentment.   
I.    Choose Up Versus Down.
II.   Choose Peace Versus
         Disturbance.
III.  Choose Acceptance Versus
         Rejection. 
IV.  Choose Results Versus
         Disappointment. 
V.   Choose Excitement Versus
        Boredom.

   Don't
   Feed
    the
 Weeds!

   This time of year, we may have to deal with some weeds in our lawn.  If we ignore them, they will take over the healthy grass.  But if we feed the healthy grass, it can take over the weeds and give us a beautiful yard.

   The same is true in our lives.  Our healthy words can kill out the weeds, which are the wrong thoughts and emotions that try to take over and bring our life down.  We do that by using UP words instead of DOWN words.  Words that are healthy keep our mindset healthy.  We can’t have pessimistic words coming out of us all the time and expect ourselves to be content.  Those words ruin our contentment.

   So if you come to the end of the day and you have disappointment or you’re down in your emotions and you don’t feel good, check to see what your words have been that day.  How did they affect your thinking and emotions?

   There’s a report published by a business consultant who sees this happen all the time.  He consults for companies who are experiencing low production in their managers and salespeople.  Therefore, the company isn’t selling as much product and that affects their profits.  So he is called in to evaluate the cause.

   He starts the process by having a conversation with the men and women in those positions.  Here’s what happened in one company for whom he consulted.  After the first few interviews he noticed their words were very pessimistic and cynical.  In other words, they were “down” words instead of “up.”  He began to recognize these people were in a cycle of talking about bad conditions and the bad state of their business.

   Over time they had become cynical and pessimistic.  Of course, that affected their performance.  It wasn’t that they didn’t have legitimate reasons but instead of working towards improving the conditions, they were adding to the weeds.  It was to the point the healthy grass couldn’t take over the weeds.

   As the consultant, his job was to get good words coming out of the people so they could take over the bad words.  That way the healthy grass could take over the weeds.  The healthy talking could take over the unhealthy talking.  He says, “When people begin talking more positively, they begin thinking or acting more so.”

   But how could he get that to happen in this company?  Very simply, he asked the managers and salespeople to monitor the way they talk.  Watch the conversations and check the direction of their words.  Were they down or up?  Just monitor what they were saying and hear themselves.  It worked!  The talking changed once they realized they were hurting themselves and the company.

   You see, something suffers when we talk the wrong way, but it improves when we talk the right way.  It is a spiritual principle.  Proverbs 12 says, From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good.  That means you’re going to have contentment if the fruit of your words are feeding you.  But if your words are creating weeds, that will overtake you.  You won’t come out of trouble.  You’ll have to live in discontentment.  Miserable!

   So those employees had to recognize if they were speaking words that were putting them in a trap that was unhealthy, or were they talking about the wonderful possibilities of the future of the company and therefore they would get a good outcome.  Were they speaking discontentment or contentment and what was good?  It was a matter of watching their talk.  Making sure the words became ones that would help themselves and the company.

   That is a great idea for us.  Watch your conversation just for the next 24 hours.  Hear yourself.  Just be natural.  Don’t try to force being super righteous.  Then after you speak, take note of how you sounded.

   I don’t know about you, but I guarantee you, there will be some words I will want to take a different direction.  Instead of down, I’ll want them going up.  I don’t want anything interfering with my contentment.  Because if we don’t have contentment, we don’t have the power of God and the peace of God operating for us.

   So if you are not content, the first thing to check are your words.  Take them the up direction.  Up to God where goodness and beauty, and hope and power exist.

Spiritual powerline to say out loud:

“I’M SPEAKING THE RIGHT WORDS!”
 

Here is a powerful prayer to say out loud:

Lord, I want my words to reflect faith in what You’re doing in spite of conditions.  I have hope, not hopelessness.  Unity, not discord.  Happiness, not sadness.  Direction, not confusion.  Restoration, not destruction.  Love, not bitterness.  Prosperity, not poverty.  Success, not failure.  I will be satisfied with the fruit of my words because my words are good.  I am content in You.  In the name of Jesus.  Amen.

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