By Hannah Solomon Mesfin (WITHIN Devotional Contributor)
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As we close out this year, I am sure most of you, like me, have already begun writing your goals and  plans for the upcoming year- writing things that we would like to accomplish, things our hearts are passionately wanting, or even deeply needing to pursue. Perhaps we feel the urgency of these goals and even anxiety surrounding them.
 
As I began to notice these emotions rising up, I began to ask myself where they were stemming from? I could have easily justified it by saying, “I’m just driven,” but the Lord kept tugging at my heart regarding a thought that has been on my mind throughout 2019. It’s a simple word with great implications that I’ve struggled with this year. Something the Lord has been teaching me more and more, day by day. And that is the state of contentment.
 
Like me, I’m sure some of you may battle with what contentment looks like in the life of a believer. Do we just pretend that because we serve a mighty, righteous and loving God that circumstances don’t happen? Absolutely not!
 
To begin to understand contentment, we must first define it. I looked up the word and I came across this definition; being content is a state of peaceful happiness. Now, we know that “happiness” can fluctuate. It comes and goes depending on our external experiences. For this sake, I am going to change the word happiness to joy. Because a state of peacefulness is found in complete joy.
 
Contentment is not something that comes naturally to us. Our flesh fights against it. In fact, the greatest opposition to contentment is sin. If we think about it, sin is sin because of Whom it is against – Christ. Anything in our lives that pushes away contentment, gratitude, peace (all Christ-like characteristics) is simply sin. Sin is an attack upon God’s character and as His children, sin then becomes the barrier between us and the promises of God if we allow it.
 
Paul understood the secret to contentment, which he then was able to receive the promise God had spoken. He writes, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Phil. 4:11-12)
 
So what is this secret Paul talks about? We can find this answer in Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.” God designed us to operate on trust. From the beginning of creation, mankind’s relationship with the Father solely depended on trust. It wasn’t until sin came into the picture through the fall of Adam and Eve that trust became a foreign language to us.
 
God’s promise to man was that we would be given “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” which will “guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” BUT this promise is only gained when we first learn to “not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil.4:6-7) Being in a state of peaceful joy – contentment-- is found when we are able to recognize moments of fear, moments of resentment, moments of envy, moments of jealousy and of bitterness, and we bring it to the Father in prayer and petition WITH thanksgiving. All these things, and even more things that are not listed, are opposites of a person living in contentment.
 
The seeds of unnecessary fear and resentment in the heart of a Christian is forgetfulness. We are able to walk better in gratitude and contentment when we can remember the things God has done for us and believe in our hearts that He will do the same again. Paul had every reason to believe that God had forsaken him. He could have sat in misery and he could have chosen to live in a state of resentment towards the Lord. Every circumstance around him spoke of a fallen world; instead, Paul spoke of a faithful God.

Contentment, then, is not denying that circumstances happen, instead contentment is holding on tightly to God THROUGH our circumstances.
 
In this upcoming year, as we sit to write down the goals and dreams we aspire to achieve, think on what the Lord has done in this past year--what God has faithfully given us even when we are underserving. And hold fast to contentment in the upcoming year, when circumstances seem to go opposite of what we initially envisioned. God wants His children to live a life of freedom. Freedom from resentment and joy through contentment.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Philippians 4:6-9
Timothy 6:6
Romans 8:28
Psalm 37:25
Philippians 4:11-13
Questions to Reflect on:

1. What circumstances in my life have prevented contentment?
2. How can I practice contentment through these circumstances?
3. What ways can I trust God in this upcoming year? With my goals/dreams/desires?

By Yodit Kifle Smith 
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If we were given the choice to pick between something that looked ordinary and simple verses something that sparkled & shined, we would most likely be drawn to the latter. In our nature, we seem to be drawn to the shiny. The pretty. The alluring.

Perhaps we can trace it to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were instructed by God to enjoy everything in the garden except the one tree that He told them not to touch. But Scripture tells us that the tree “looked pleasing to her [Eve’s] eyes” (Genesis 3:6) and so, being deceived by the Serpent, Eve and Adam chose to disobey God’s command.
 In our fallen humanity, we’ve been programmed to think less of the ordinary and think more of what looks and feels pleasing to the eyes (1 John 2-16). However, throughout the story of God, He’s revealed to us that He has always been for what looks unlikely and ordinary by man’s perspective. His story is one that has time and time again shown His love for the humble and the lowly. He’s always used people who were looked over because they didn’t “look” the part or because their pedigree didn’t give them a seat at the table. In His choosing, He’s always reminded His people that He was the One at work, not man’s intelligence, looks, wisdom or anything in and of themselves (Deuteronomy 8).
We see it all throughout the Old Testament:
·       He chose Moses, a little Hebrew boy who should have been killed but was adopted into a royal family so that he might lead the Israelites out of slavery (Exodus 2).
·       He chose David, a ruddy shepherd boy who had no experience, right or privilege in man’s eyes, to be King (1 Samuel 16).
·       He chose Esther, an ordinary girl to become Queen and help save a whole nation (Esther 2).
·       He chose Ruth, a faithful and loyal daughter-in-law to be a part of Jesus’ lineage through Boaz and reflect the relationship we have with God as our true Kinsman Redeemer (Ruth 2). 
We see a gracious God who delights in doing incredible feats through ordinary people.
In the incarnation we see His same faithful character displayed through how He chose to dwell among us, us ordinary people...a people of ordinary means and unlikely circumstances for the King of Glory to actual reside with us.
One might expect the God of all creation to enter seeking prominent recognition, to let the world know that He is God-Almighty, Majestic and worthy to be praised. But that’s not how He revealed Himself. He didn’t need to be recognized as God by man’s standards – shiny, attractive, flashy. People needed to see that they aren’t capable of being reconciled to God without Him working. Humanity needed to know that God is the One at work, not them.
He chose to enter into the world in a way that reveals the character trait He’s always been drawn to: humility.
He chose Mary and Joseph. They didn’t have merit by our measure that would qualify them to do what God chose for them to do. Even Mary said this of herself when she exalted the Lord through her song, “He has looked on the humble estate of His servant…” (Luke 1:48). In their humility, they obeyed.
He then chose to reveal the news of His birth to shepherds. Why not to the rulers of the land? Why not the elite or the intellectual? In that time, shepherds were considered the lowest of the low. They were outside of “normal” society and their occupation wasn’t considered significant. They were dirty, smelly and often illiterate. Yet God chose them to witness and know one of the most significant, life altering truth that will ever be: “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).

In this, we see that...
·       He came for the lowly. “For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly.” (Psalm 138:6)
·       He chose the lowly. “God chose what is low and despised in the world.” (1 Corinthians 1: 28)
·       He loves the lowly. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5)


What does this teach us about how we are called to live as people whose God is with them, in them, and for them?
First and foremost, He’s called us, ordinary and unlikely people who were once far off but now have been brought near because of Christ (Ephesians 2:13), to bear His Holy and Great name. Not through flashy faith but by humble obedience in the everyday-ness of life.
God with us (Immanuel) is an invitation to embrace the ordinary, for our Immanuel came as an ordinary, unimpressive man of lowly stature. Immanuel then is an invitation to never overlook what seems simple or mundane, to never look down upon the lowly. God’s character displayed in how He came invites us to be drawn by humility, walk in humility and always seek humility. It means embracing the reality that NOTHING we have done and nothing we will ever do puts us in a right standing with God. It is entirely Christ’s position with God and His intercession on our behalf that gives us a seat at the table.  In a world that makes much of the noticeable, God with us is an open door to make much of the ordinary because God has and continues to make much of it.
In this Advent season and in every season, may we rejoice in being able to carry His Great name in the everyday, ordinary days that will carry with it eternal weight.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 

Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Genesis 3:6
Psalm 138:6
Luke 2:10-11
1 Corinthians 1:28
1 Peter 5:5
Ephesians 2:13

Questions to Reflect on:

1. Why is it hard to be content with the “ordinary” in this day in age?
2. How does seeing the humility of Jesus compel us to seek humility in our relationship with Him?
3. How can we make much of God during this Christmas season but more importantly in the every day’s of our life?