MAIN PAGE LINKS USA-Christian Homepage Christian Links Sinner's Prayer LIBRARY NEW! LIBRARY BLOG New articles will post to our blog beginning in April 2007 Library Archive & Links Links to articles posted prior to April 2007 can be found here Popular Library Pages: One Liners and Other Short Quotes More One Liners! More One Liners II More One Liners III Joanne Lowe's Inspirations Weekly Inspirations: Stories to Make You Think RECOMMENDED READING: Revolution in World Missions     by K.P. Yohannan Category: Missions Rating: 5 Stars I'm Currently Reading: 1.) Understanding Your Potential     by Myles Munroe Category:     Inspiration/Motivation Books On My Reading List: 1.) The Great Physician's Rx for Women's Health    by Jordan & Nicki Rubin Category: Health 2.) The Seven Laws of the Learner    by Dr. Bruce Wilkinson Category: Christian Living/    Church Dynamics/Spiritual    Growth SHOPPING Handmaid Home    handmade knit & crochet USA-Christian.biz    Americana - Christian - Conservative Home Decor ~♥~ This article courtesy of The Elijah List, www.elijahlist.com ~♥~ "THE POWER OF A SATISFIED HEART" by Victoria Boyson Web: www.boyson.org A person with a satisfied heart is a person whom God can bless. "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 So often we can find ourselves wrestling with God instead of wrestling the mountain in our lives. We can, through our frustration, end up rebuking God, instead of rebuking principalities and powers. We can get caught in the complaint cycle and whine to God about how long it's taking Him to meet our need, instead of thanking Him for all that He has already done for us. Our need can continually drive us back to God, seeking explanations from Him, instead of thanking Him for the mountains He has already moved and the seas that He has parted to get us this far. How soon we lose sight of all the miracles He has performed to bring us the blessings we have already been given. While waiting for God to do the "big" thing for us, we forget to be thankful for the little blessings along the way. I believe that the small blessings we receive from God are really a test for our heart. He wants to know if we will be thankful for even the smallest gift. Satan wants us to become dissatisfied with the blessings God has given us. A dissatisfied heart is easy for him to manipulate. When we are frustrated, he can get us to do and say things we would not otherwise do. Attitudes erupt out of our dissatisfaction that we would not otherwise have. And, of course, jealousy and ambition are both rooted deeply in an ungrateful, dissatisfied heart. A dissatisfied heart is like a hunger that is never filled or a fire that never dies out. If you allow it, it will eat away at the enjoyment you find in this life. The Safe Zone Having a satisfied heart can keep us in a "safe zone." There is a place where Satan cannot gain access to our minds. That place is where we give thanksgiving and praise to God for all that He has done for us. "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 I have a friend who is a pastor, and he recently went through a situation in his church where many people in his congregation left. Instead of becoming embittered about what he had lost, he made a conscious effort to thank God for the people who stayed with him. In a time of loss, it is easy to lose sight of all we still have! In all circumstances and at all times, we can always find something to be thankful for and remain thankful in the place God has put us. When God graciously shows us something He wants to give us, and it does not happen right away, it is easy to become frustrated. If God has promised it, He will complete it. But we have our part to do and that is thanking Him in spite of how things look in the natural. Our frustration and anxiety will only serve to hinder God. Praise and thanksgiving proves we are trusting in Him to do what He has promised in His timing, in His way. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (Emphasis mine) The presence, the peace, and the power of God are gifts given freely to those who trust Him and do not allow anxiety to remain in their hearts. The peace of God will be a guard over our hearts, fighting against anxiety and dissatisfaction. Anxiety will erode our faith and trust in God, but the peace of a God that passes all understanding will produce a satisfied heart. I truly believe that a satisfied heart can touch God and experience His presence anywhere at anytime. Adopting Ruth's Heart In the story of Ruth, we see a picture of a woman who has not grown up in the Jewish faith. She has married into a Jewish family and has taken their God as her own. She, her mother-in-law (Naomi), and her sister-in-law had the rug pulled out from under them when, one by one, all their husbands died. Hearing that things were better in her homeland of Israel, Naomi decided to go home to her people. She urged her daughters-in-law to go back to their homelands, but Ruth refused to leave her. "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me." Ruth 1:16-17 Ruth stayed with Naomi as though she were her own child. Whatever would happen to them in the future, they would go through it together. Ruth took her hands off of her own life and let God have control of whatever happened to her. She trusted God to take care of her. She laid down her own plans and embraced God's plan for her. Ruth made herself Naomi's caretaker. She even gleaned the leftover grain that the harvesters left in the fields so she and Naomi could have bread. It was her decision to let God take over her life, even if it meant she became lower than a servant in Boaz's fields (see Ruth 2). The decision to follow God's plan eventually made her a very blessed woman indeed. She was gleaning in his fields when Boaz spotted her and took care of her. Then he said to her: "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you." Ruth 2:8-9 Ruth couldn't understand why Boaz took notice of her, why she had such favor with him. But Boaz had heard of Ruth's faithfulness and loyalty to Naomi and because of it she found unreasonable favor with him. He blessed her and said, "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge" (Ruth 2:12). Boaz saw Ruth's kindness to Naomi, and it drew him to her. God did repay Ruth for her faithfulness, more than she could have dreamt possible. She eventually married Boaz and became the mistress of all he owned. But even more than that, she became the great-grandmother of kings. King David the son of Jesse was her great-grandson. And twenty-eight generations after her was born her very GREAT-grandson...King Jesus...the Christ! God's Plans Are Greater Than We Can Imagine Ruth had been satisfied to serve Naomi. She had given up her own plans for her life in order to serve another, and God blessed her with status and wealth. She took the lowly path and refused to leave her mother-in-law. She had no way of knowing what would happen to her, but she trusted God to care for her and was satisfied to glean in the field. She was satisfied with and thankful for the grain in the field. Her gratitude and loyalty pleased God so much so that He blessed her and raised her up and gave her more than she could have dreamed. The way we treat the people God puts in our lives can be a testing ground for God to see if we are ready for greater things. So many are asking God to give them a ministry, yet they have neglected their first ministry, which is to minister to the needs of those God has placed around them. We learn how to minister to others by ministering to our family and friends. If we mistreat them, God will not put more people under our care because we would eventually mistreat them as well. We cannot possibly love others more than we love those who are dear to us. We need to adopt Ruth's heart and live satisfied to serve those we love - satisfied to clean toilets, change diapers, or to change oil. All these simple tasks can be done as an act of worship unto God. When we learn to enjoy serving God through simple things, God will give us more important things to do. Thank God today for all He has done for you. Trust Him for all that is to come and feel the peace of God that transcends all understanding fill your heart right now. You CAN trust Him...He IS good...He IS faithful! Victoria Boyson, Inc. www.boyson.org Copyright (c) 2003-2004 All rights reserved.

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