Ready or not, summer is here! I have now been blessed to call Hilton Head Island “home” for just over three years, and God still reminds me of how blessed I am to call “home” a place where so many save up to visit for one week.
But we don’t always remember that, do we? I don’t always remember that.
That still, small voice from God as a reminder often comes when I’m grumbling to myself while stuck in summer traffic at a traffic circle that will not be named, or leaving our church campus on South Forest Beach Drive only to battle through traffic and pedestrians with beach gear in tow.
If I’m honest, it takes frequent reminders from the Lord of how blessed I am, despite myself being an annual vacationer here for 19 years.
For me, this is a reminder of my lack of ability (or maybe my unwillingness) to find contentment with my immediate circumstances.
To some degree, most of us probably struggle with this. We save up to go somewhere else. We work our fingers to the bone for retirement years. We endure our job to get to the weekend. We long for a nicer car or house.
While it’s certainly acceptable to strive toward growth, savings and success in life, we come into a dangerous position when these become our source of contentment.
When we find our happiness in possessions, in careers, in 401K’s, or in any other part of our portfolio, we find ourselves placing our trust and intrinsic value in something that can change in the blink of an eye. One phone call from a doctor, one blip in the stock market, or one errantly placed candle, and that can all be taken away.
What reasonable person, then, would not seek to find contentment in something, or Someone, who never changes? As our family has faced medical issues unlike any we’ve ever experienced, this has been a resounding question in my mind, and one that I am so thankful has been answered through my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 13:8 proclaims that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
James 1:17 proclaims that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Maybe earthly things we are permitted to enjoy were never intended to be the source of our joy. Maybe the source of that joy, the source of our contentment, can only be found in our Creator, through whom we find relationship with His Son.
I pray you find the true source of lasting contentment and joy.
Brett Myers is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church on Hilton Head Island. FBCHHI.org
