Press the arrow to listen to New Life Worship sing “In Your Presence” while reading today’s devotion on contentment.

Scripture
O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever. Psalm 131

Observation
One of the sure signs that we are growing up is that we are happy when our needs aren’t met. A mother and her small child are sketched in Psalm 131. The child is happy, not because he is getting the bottle. Instead, the toddler is content simply because mama is close.

I know I am maturing when I am content praying even if no answers come. All the selfishness of requests are set aside, and it is good just to be with the Lord.

Application
There is a place of rest for me somewhere between desire and fulfillment. Most will not be content until the answer comes. But the Father shows me a another option of satisfaction even when the bag is empty for me. I suspect in the current economic earthquake that there will be a lot more need to find contentment in the word “without”. That will spare me from overreaching. Instead, the instructions for me are clear: compose and quiet yourself. I must pull in my insatiable longings and find my contentment in just being with the Lord.

Prayer
Father, help me to really value what the word “present” means. It is not a possession that you offer me, like a boxed present. It is a relationship that you give me in the sense that you are present in the room. That is more than enough for me. Amen.