Supernatural Contentment

Over the past 4-5 weeks I have been asked by several people “you seem really, really happy… what gives?” in one way or another. Seems like a loaded question. My first thought is I am very happy, how’d they know? What gave it away? My second thought is did I not seem happy before? and my third thought is I am happy but how can I explain to them in so few words why? It’s been a weird process with no real one moment or one happening that I can pinpoint but this weekend like a switch a light bulb was turned on in my head. I wasn’t happy because of a new boyfriend, a new condo, or even the new fuel injectors in my car (which are very helpful to have in full working order FYI). I am happy because for the first time in my life I GET it. And by “it” I mean what God has been trying to tell me all along. “It’s not about you Stephanie.” Wait a second God, then “what is it about?” We as Americans are programmed to look out for number one, to climb the corporate ladder straight to the top, to make more money, have more cars, have more things…more, more, more… right?

Let me introduce you to Jesus, a radical of his time, not cool and by no means popular…Hated enough to be crucified on a cross. So why and how has His message made it to the present? His message was clear and changed humanity. But it has somehow been skewed by the present day American dream . What people seem to forget about Jesus was his intimacy with some of the most corrupt people of the time. He associated with tax collectors who were the known liars and deceivers of the nation and whom many in his day distrusted. He associated with the socially rejected, prostitutes, sinners, lepers and the blind. He directly involved himself in the world’s brokenness. He never sat comfortably on a cushioned pew waiting for a gracious introduction to thousands of people before he gave the Sermon on the Mount. He was never welcomed in the King’s house or invited to eat with the royal family. I would imagine in today’s world He’d be the same way. We wouldn’t find Him at White house luncheons or Sunday dinner church potlucks. We’d find Him outside of the church walls on the streets with the poor, prostitutes and sick of our day. Why is this important? It reminds us. It’s not about us.

Jen Hatmaker wrote a study called Interrupted where she explains that Americans prefer the top. We are programmed to continue to want and to get the next best thing. She calls this the ascent and describes it as such. “The pursuit of the ascent is crippling and has stunted my faith more than any other evil I’ve battled. It saddles us with so much to defend, and ironically, it doesn’t deliver because the more we accumulate, the more fearful we become that we’re just one slip from losing it all.” She explains that in order to really be happy we have to experience the descent back down to where Jesus was. “The path of descent,” she explains, “is also the path to liberation. You are no longer compelled to be right and are thus relieved from the burden of maintaining some reputation. You are released from the idols of greed, control, and status. The pressure to protect your house of cards is alleviated when you take the lowest place.” It was upon reading this that I got “it”. My happiness was not based on the things of this world. They were based on the fact that God was gradually pushing me back down the ladder. I was on the path of descent. Ironic I know how could you be happy going back down the ladder towards those who are suffering? Jesus was also the one who said , “the first will be last and the last will be first.” But again it all comes back to His original message and what He was really about. He was never about Himself. He was about others.

“…the gospel is the revelation of who God is, who we are and how we can be reconciled in Him. Yet in the American dream, where self reigns as king, we have a dangerous tendency to misunderstand, minimize, and even manipulate the gospel in order to accommodate our assumptions and desires. As a result we desperately need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical. And in the process we need to examine whether we have misconstrued a proper response to the gospel and maybe even missed the primary reward of the gospel, which is God himself.” --- taken from “Radical”

It was when God finally opened my eyes to the world as He saw it that I realized what it was about, and it wasn’t me anymore.

All of this begs the question so what is the “path of the descent” and what does it mean for my life? I will answer that with what I think the path of the ascent is which is bringing very little to the table for God and forgetting to thank Him for our blessings then getting to the top only to look down and not be happy. Thus, the path of descent must mean bringing everything to Him, thanking Him for all of our blessings and instead of looking up at those above us, we look up to Him and around to those at the bottom and smile because we are happy, content…. supernaturally content with our lives. When you do something for other people and give your money not to material things but to our God and his mission, you will experience a peace, a contentment that exceeds all understanding.