If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:11 ESV
Doubt, fear, anxiousness, mistrust, and pride are all at the root of a believer’s heart that doesn’t truly understand the depth of love that the Father has for his children. I know this because this is my heart. In the spirit of honesty and truth, I must examine my own heart and see the darkness that resides there. A darkness that misleads me in a multitude of ways, but chief among those lies is that my heavenly Father does not love me unconditionally. This darkness will do anything and everything to convince me of two things. One, that I must earn the love of my heavenly Father. And two, that my heavenly Father withholds good things from me. These are the same lies that the enemy has been whispering in the ears of men and women since the beginning. Even in the Garden, where every good and beautiful gift was freely given in abundance, our first parents listened to the lie that God was holding something back and they reached out in their pride and envy to take what they then desired. It is no different now. I shut my eyes to all the good and beautiful gifts that my loving Father has given me and merely focus on those things I do not have. Then, in my arrogance and pride, I determine that if God will not give me what I want, I will go get it myself.
Humble contentment is the physical, emotional, and spiritual state in which I want to find my rest. It is a state that is talked about in Psalm 131, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” This is the natural rest of a child that firmly believes and trusts in his parent to provide all the nourishment that is needed. Not just physical nourishment of food and drink, but emotional and spiritual nourishment as well. This is where I need my heart in relationship with my Father. I need to have complete trust and faith in him alone.
I know all these truths about the unconditional love of my Father, yet I continually find myself doubting his goodness. I am never satisfied. I want a job, but the one God provides is below my standards. I want a car, but the one God provides is old and run down. I want and I want and I want, but I am never satisfied with what is provided. Even as I fully know and understand that each gift I have been given is from my Father, I still find myself becoming restless. This restlessness stirs up fear, doubt, worry, and coveting. My restless heart begins to wander.
As I wander, I lose sight of all the good and beautiful gifts from my loving Father. I neglect those things that have been provided for me as I become apathetic and morose. I find myself always looking elsewhere for satisfaction in a multitude of different things. Things that are not God.
I need to truly open my eyes and see the love of God poured out in my life. I have a thousand good and beautiful gifts from my Father. Gifts that are meant to draw my heart to Him alone. My satisfaction and contentment can only be found in Jesus. My rest and peace can only be found in Jesus. My Father gives and gives and gives and gives and keeps on giving. He loves me unconditionally. This is difficult to truly understand. His love for me does not wax and wane like the phases of the moon. His love is constant and pure. It is my heart that falters. It is my heart that needs refreshing continually.
Father… Thank you for all these good and wonderful gifts that you have given and continue to give. You have given me the most wonderful gift of all through your Son. You have made me your child. You have chosen to set your eyes upon me and hold me safe in your embrace. Like the embrace of a mother with her child. Show me the depth of your love in my heart. Let me truly feel and know the riches of your kindness. Let me taste and see that you are good. Let me savor your mercy and grace as it floods my soul at every moment. Let me be like a weaned child who has no concern for anything because I completely trust and have faith in my loving heavenly Father.