May 20, 2026 – Contentment
JA – “I AM THE GATE; whoever enters through Me will be saved. I am not a locked barrier but an open door for you – for all My chosen followers. I came into the world so that you might have Life and have it to the full. A full life means different things for different people. So, in your quest to live abundantly, don’t compare your circumstances with those of others…. Godliness with contentment is great gain…. No matter what you possess in this world, remember: Little (or much) + Me = everything!” See John 10:9-10 and 1 Timothy 6:6-8.
Power – Proverbs 8:6 – “Hear, for I will speak excellent and princely things; and the opening of my lips shall be for right things.” Joyce points out that, “In this Scripture, Solomon made a decision about how he would talk, and we should do the same thing. Just as we can direct our thoughts, we can also direct our words with God’s help…. Our words affect us and the people around us. They also affect what God is able to do for us…. Change your words, and you will change your life!”
Prevail #141 – Psalm 65:11 – “You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Larson offers something we tend to forget but that should be a comfort to us, “We don’t determine the seasons of our lives; God does. We need a faith perspective in every season…. if you could look up and listen for the Lord, you would hear Him say, ‘My dear child. This isn’t about who you are; it’s about who you’re becoming. Your great unearthing will soon be the devil’s undoing. Hold on. Listen for My voice.”
Streams – John 18:11 – “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Cowman shares this, about suffering, from Johannes Tauler, “God is a thousand times more meticulous with us than even an artist is with his canvas. Using many brush strokes of sorrow, and circumstances of various colors, He paints us into the highest and best image He visualizes, if we will only receive His bitter gifts of myrrh in the right spirit…. My advice to you, dear child, is to open your heart to the pain and suffering, and it will accomplish more good than being full of emotion and sincerity.”
Simpson – “Ye are not your own” (I Cor. vi. 19). Simpson helps us see that it is “…a privilege that we may consecrate ourselves…. What rest and comfort lie hidden in those words, ‘Not my own.’ Not responsible for my salvation, not burdened by my cares, not obliged to live for my interests, but altogether His; redeemed, owned, saved, loved, kept in the strong, unchanging arms of His everlasting love…. We are putting ourselves in the hands of a loving Father, more solicitous for our good than we can be and only wanting us to be fully submitted to Him that He may be more free to bless us.”
JC – “When your sins weigh heavily upon you, come to Me. Confess…. Stay in the Light of My Presence, receiving forgiveness, cleansing, and healing…. Man’s tendency is to hide from his sin, seeking refuge in the darkness. There he indulges in self-pity, denial, self-righteousness, blaming, and hatred. But I am the Light of the world, and My illumination decimates the darkness. Come close to Me….”
