Contentment

"Are you ready to head back to school?" this has been the dreaded question that I have been asked for the last two weeks. My response with a laugh, "No, not really." but inside my heart is screaming, "No, I don't want to go!"

After this summer, I became very discontent with the idea of going back to school. This summer was amazing. I got to coach and play games. I met new people. I gained godly friends. I was saturated with God's Word day and night. It was easy to do right. I saw God change life after life including my own. And now, back to school. But this is exactly the attitude that will get me in trouble.

In Philippians 4, Paul says this, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, there with to be content."

I think that we all know what it means to be discontent. We are not satisfied with whatever situation we are in. We could want things; we could want more friends or a dating relationship. We can even want something good, but it's just not God's timing right now. Contentment is realizing that I have everything I need in Christ wherever He has me at this point in my life. 

For me, this is what I have to apply as I go back to school. Because, in all honesty, I'm just ready to be done! But this is where God wants me right now. I am here to finish what I started. Even though my ministry at school is not the same as the Wilds, I still have a ministry and a responsibility to do all to His glory. It all has to start with this contentment. 

Everyone Has a Story

At this time during camp, I would be just getting to know my campers. I would be doing a short survey during devotions just to learn a little more about them. I would ask questions like "What do you want to be when you grow up" and "When is your birthday?" I would also ask about salvation and areas that they want to see God change in their lives. All this is so that I can get to know their story.

"Everyone has a story." 

This is a phrase that was often said in our team meetings every Monday. It was something that I didn't think about much until I was placed face to face with loving people every week whether I wanted to or not. The story could be a comedy, romance, or many times a tragedy, but sometimes, I am so quick to jump to conclusions instead of seeing the needs in peoples life. It's easy to judge by appearance or speech or attitude. But it's not easy to love just like Jesus commands us to. During His ministry, Christ went searching for the unlovable. He healed lepers, caused the blind to see, made the lame to walk. He defended an adulteress. He associated with a woman from Samaria. All of these were outcasts. They were the ones who everyone looked down on, but Jesus looked at them with compassion. But many times, we ignore people and the love they need to be shown. We may look on them with pity, but do we care enough to do anything about it? Do we really show them Christ-like love? 

At camp, it was easy to love those placed in my cabin because I had to. And I thoroughly enjoyed it! I have so many sweet friendships now with girls that I never would have met had it not been for camp. I got to love on girls who just needed a friend. They needed to know that someone cared. My real test though comes at home, school, and anywhere else this life may take me. Maybe there is a person with a story I already know. Or maybe it's a person who I just meet because of Divine intervention. Whoever I may come into contact with I have to decide to love the unlovable and remember that everyone has a story. 

The Ultimate Satisfaction

Depression. Boys. Anger. Drugs. Cutting. Alcohol. Bitterness. Friends. Music. Video games. Movies.

The list could go on, but what do all of these things have in common? These are all things that we turn to for peace. I have seen teenager after teenager come to camp with no joy, no peace, and no hope. The human heart is searching. It's searching to fill an emptiness. It is looking for some satisfaction, some acceptance, some love. It's searching to fill a hole, but that hole is God-shaped. It can only be filled by Him.

If I had to pinpoint one lesson for the whole summer, it would be this: God is sufficient. Colossians 2:10a says, "And ye are complete in him." I found this verse after a couple weeks of singing "Complete in Thee" every Thursday night. I was curious where exactly this song came from, and this verse was perfect! It talks of how everything is found in Christ. If we were to just stop and think about everything God offers us, it should change the entire course of our lives. (I'll share more about that in a later post.)

The question is this: "Is God really everything to you?" It is so easy to just turn to everything else around us. We like to trust what we can see, but all of this is only temporary. Christ offers us everlasting life, incomprehensible peace, and abundance of joy (John 3:16, Philippians 4:7, 1 John 1:4). Why do we even try to turn to any of what this world offers? 

Now, you may not struggle with anything that we think of as a serious problem, but anything that we put ahead of God is our idol (Exodus 20:3). It becomes our mini god. And we deny God of the love and glory He wants and deserves from us. It's so easy to get caught up in the flow of this life. We have to constantly be filling our mind with God through His Word so that we can be focused on Him. Otherwise, we will fail miserably. But, God gives us His grace day be day to do just what He requires of us. He will help us develop our ultimate satisfaction in Him alone. 

You Can't Do This

"You can't do this. You're not good enough. You're not spiritual enough. You just can't do this."

These are the thoughts that flooded my mind all through our week of staff training. It was information overload. You had to know the schedule, the rules, and the basic camp procedures. You're given books to help you counsel and books to tell you where to go. There was no way. And I was absolutely right. There is no way I could ever get through this summer on my own. 

Every summer the wilds staff is given a specific study. This year the theme was pride. You never realize the depth of pride in your life until you really take the time to look at it. We as a staff were all required to read a book about pride and humility before we got to camp. That was convicting in and of itself, and then we heard Tom Farrell preach on it! 

You see, before I came to camp. I didn't think pride was an issue in my life, I was blinded by my own selfishness. And here the first week, I was relying on my abilities to get me through. Pride is self-anything. And I was being self-reliant until I realized that self just wasn't going to cut it for this summer. I needed humility. Humility is recognizing that God is all, self is nothing, and others are more important. This had to be the foundation for my ministry at the wilds. It's all for Gods glory, not my own, and my campers needs are what my focus should be. 

Pride is a constant battle. It's the root of all sin. And honestly, it's something I will struggle with until the day I die. It isn't until we come to the point that we realize we just can't do this that God can begin to do great things in and through your life. Once we humble ourselves before Him, He uses us in ways we never can imagine. We serve a great God who can and will do great things.