The great thing with unhappy times is to take them bit by bit, hour by hour, like an illness. It is seldom the present, the exact present, that is unbearable.

Remember one is given strength to bear what happens to one, but not the 100 and 1 different things that might happen.

C.S. Lewis, Letter to An American Lady

I know that many of the readers of this little blog have many heartaches and troubles, and what I write can only address a tiny bit of a tiny bit of the many disappointments and discouragements that Christian women can meet with in all stages of life.

But thankfully, God doesn’t rely on me or on my blog to satisfy the hearts of His people. If so, we would all be sunk! Nevertheless, I hope He can and will use me to encourage some of you who have heavy hearts about miscarriages, infertility, or the unmarried state. And how can I do that? By pointing you to the excellencies of Christ. You have a Savior and He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He, and only He, can enable the Christian to find hope and comfort, satisfaction and joy in Him and no where else. So I point you to Jesus. Read More

Once we have identified discontent in our lives, how do we make our way to contentment? Paul had to learn contentment, as he tells us in his letter to the Philippians: “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” And if the apostle had to learn this lesson, no doubt we will need to learn it as well, one assignment at a time with an occasional quiz or comprehensive test. So here are some more gleanings from those old preachers, Watson and Burroughs.

Contentment is not natural, but an inward work of grace in our hearts. We do not need any lessons in discontent. That is easy enough and the flesh runs that direction well enough on its own. But how do we learn contentment? By bridling our thoughts and emotions. That means putting a bit in the teeth of our thoughts, and steering them in the right direction. By mortifying (putting to death) our desires, and keeping our hearts from being set too much on the creature. These are hard lessons indeed. And if we think it’s as easy as snapping our fingers, we don’t yet understand contentment. Read More

What is discontent? A dissatisfaction with your circumstances, a restless desire for something more or something different. It takes the heart off God and fixes it on the trouble, discomposing the soul so that it cannot go forward steadily or cheerfully.

Here’s a little summary of what Watson and Burroughs would say about the evils of discontent.

1. It’s sinful, sordid, troublesome, wearying, and unworthy of a Christian.

2. It has evil companions like melancholy, sullenness, ingratitude, envy, jealousy, and covetousness.

3. It is folly. It takes away your comfort, making the body sick and weak.

4. It makes your crosses heavier and your grief unbearable.

5. It spins out your troubles longer.

6. It spreads to others like an infection.

7. It breeds quarrels.

In the early years of our marriage we lived in an apartment (the downstairs of an old house) that was cozy enough when it was just for the two of us. But when we became three and then four, it started to lose its charm for me. In fact, I grew mighty weary of that place. We kept looking for another place, but nothing turned up that would be an actual improvement. And the longer we looked, the more grumbly I got about our little spot.

I won’t list off the problems with that place here. Trust me. It was not a very convenient house for us, and I wasn’t making things up. But I remember well one day having a conversation with my husband where I was listing my woes about our apartment. And I well remember what he told me in response. He said that God would not provide a new place for us until I was at the point where I would be sad to leave our old place. Yikes! You’ve got to be kidding! That will never happen! But he kindly Read More

Godly men get more riches out of their poverty than ever they get out of their revenues.

Godly men are better for an affliction; many godly men are worse for their prosperity.

Jeremiah Burroughs