Contentment is Not a Crime

Tiffany Huff-Strothers

Happy New Year!

11|CIU New Year 2018 I believe greatness is on the horizon for 2018, even in the midst of chaos and changes in the world. It’s challenging sometimes to balance embracing the season we are in as we look forward to the one to come. And so, I want to challenge you to start the year with an understanding of the power in active waiting. Yes, active waiting. It’s waiting in purpose. It is the type of waiting demonstrated in actively pursuing, praying, and praising God where you are as you prepare for where He’s taking you. Active waiting puts the power in contentment. When we’re outside of the flow though, when we are misaligned, folk will have us thinking contentment is a crime. If you’re not careful folk will have you believe that trusting in God’s perfect timing is a crime. Timing doesn’t get any better than divine. Don’t get so caught up in keeping up with The Jones’ that you get left behind by what’s divine. Contentment is not a crime. Seasons, Cycles, & Rhythm Over the past two years, my life began to change at Godspeed once I surrendered. These changes started to happen just as summer was coming to an end in 2016. During summer the days are much longer which for me leads to more productivity. During the month of August 2016, I woke every morning and wrote page after page of a book I’d buried way down deep inside me ten years ago. I was in awe of what I was writing and how quickly I was writing it. I’d found my rhythm. Your rhythm is often God’s response to your desire for relationship with Him. Rhythm is the way the spirit moves in and through you. I woke up early every morning and after spending some time with God, the words would just flow. Just as those August mornings heated up, so did the story I was telling. As the summer began to come to an end I started my search for an editor and the reality that I was finally going to be an author began to sink in. I expected that if I could write an entire book in a month so too could it be edited in a month. Let’s just say my timing was off. Way off. Then came fall. During the fall, many trees began to shed their leaves and they begin reproducing and spreading seeds. Animals begin to migrate and prepare for hibernation. The seeds lay dormant through winter, the animals sleep throughout the cold season. The fall season brought with it uneasiness for me. I didn’t understand how things had gone so well during the summer months and now I was seemingly out of rhythm with the spirit. But God. God wanted me to be aware that within the seasons, my rhythm will ebb and flow in cycles. I don’t know about you, but one of the most challenging parts of being a woman is the monthly cycle. And if you aren’t keeping up with your cycle, things can get pretty messy. The hormonal, and physical changes it brings impact our productivity and often times our peace. But God. Without our cycles there’d be no children, no milk produced to feed them, no release of necessary toxins from our bodies. Cycles are a necessity for divine creation. As the fall approached my leaves had been to shed, and I was in a season of reproduction. A shift was happening, and God was preparing me to allow myself to rest as He readied my seeds to begin budding this spring. The rhythm I had with the Holy spirit hadn’t been lost, it had changed. He decided to change it up. The rhythm had slowed down a bit, but He was still Moving in and through me. I struggled with the wait though, I struggled to see how the seasons, cycles, and rhythm were working for my good. I struggled to be content without becoming complacent. The Pursuit of Happiness Here’s the thing, the line between complacency and contentment is a fine one. The three things that separate the two are perspective, position and pursuit. The way you see and think about yourself (your perspective), impacts how you move (your position) and what you do to get to where you’re going (pursuit). If your perspective isn’t aligned with the truth that all things are working for your good (Romans 8:28), because God has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11) then your pursuit might be pursuing the wrong things (Matthew 6:33). See the changes in seasons, cycles, and rhythm is actually an extension of God’s grace. He extends His grace to us to ensure our perspective, position, and pursuits are aligned with the power He’s placed inside us. As we maneuver through the seasons, cycles, and rhythms He extends us grace to allow us to pause in the pursuit. Because when there’s no pause we begin to live for what’s to come. When there’s no pause we miss what’s right now. But when you pause your perspective shifts and you recognize if you want to be in position for His promises to manifest, you have to pursue Him. This pursuit, this active waiting is how you live a life of contentment. The pursuit of happiness is about your willingness to pray, praise, and consistently pursue God’s will for your life in all seasons, in all stages of the cycle and no matter how the Holy Spirit moves in and through you. Complacency manifests when you’re misaligned, when your perspective (Romans 8:28), position (Jeremiah 29:11) and pursuit (Matthew 6:33) aren’t a reflection of His promises. continue on pg. 30