Have you ever tried helping someone who is never happy with the situation they’re in? They’re always looking for something different, something which beyond the shadow of a doubt is going to be a big improvement and the solution to all their problems. Except when they find that different situation, it turns out they’re no more happy than they were before.
And it’s always someone else’s fault. The blame may go on everyone from someone’s spouse to their employer to their pastor or — here’s a safe place to place blame — the government.
Of course, neither you nor I have ever been like that. Unless maybe you ask someone close to us.
Paul had a similar situation to deal with in that most problem-free of all churches, the pastor’s paradise of Corinth.
Nobody was happy with where they were at. The unmarried wanted to be married. The married wanted to be unmarried. The Jews wanted to be Gentiles. The Gentiles wanted to be Jews. The slaves wanted to be free. And if you can believe it, some of the free wanted to be slaves, because in those days it was an all-expenses paid gig that could set you up for a quite a nice lifestyle.
Paul had a one-size-fits-all answer for the lot of them. Be happy with where you’re at because God has put you there. I bet that made him popular.
Back in the day when we used to pick strawberries in the summer, it was always a temptation to go from row to row in search of what looked like a more promising patch. Those who stayed in the same place inevitably filled their containers quicker.
There are lots of reasons why we are discontent. Sometimes we’re in a legitimately tough situation, one from which we need to pray deliverance. But often we don’t need deliverance, we need perspective. God’s perspective.
There are reasons he has placed you and I in the situations we are in. He is sovereign, after all. How much better to cooperate with him while he does what he wants through the place or season we are in.
That requires trust in his goodness and faithfulness, but he shouldn’t have to earn that from us. He’s already given us everything.
In the end, it comes down to a search for freedom. We never find freedom because we don’t realize the freedom we already have. And we forget that the freedom we have is worth more than anything any change in our circumstances could give us.
Try looking at your situation with that perspective. It may not change your situation, but it may change your life.
