I firmly believe that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6:6) and that much of our dissatisfaction in life is fuelled by a consumerist society that thrives on discontent (after all, if you’re satisfied with your latest purchase, why would you buy anything else?!) So much of our angst in life – fuelling mental health issues and leaving us depressed, frustrated and always wanting more – comes because we have not learned the secret of being content in every situation (see Phil 4:12-13).
Having said that, there is also a tension in our lives because we were made for God and for perfection and yet we live in a fallen, imperfect world. ‘It’s not like it was before,’ as Aaron Shust sings in the poignant song, ‘Ever After’. Our hearts yearn for God and for more of Him. Like Pippa Gumbel who exclaimed in church one day, ‘there must be more than this!’, we recognise that we were made for so much more and so we live, content, with holy dissatisfaction. As with so many things in God, it’s a paradox.
I’m not satisfied with where I am with God. There is so much more of God to see, know and experience. As I read the book of Acts, my heart aches, for I cannot imagine having the faith of Peter or Paul and seeing what they saw. I believe in my head that God is the same and can do these things in our time, but there is a dissonance between what I believe and what I see. I am left on my knees, seeking God to revive us again. He is our only hope.
‘When You move, hearts awaken
Broken lives will be redeemed
Here and now, as in Heaven
Let revival be released
Hear our cry.
Heal our land.
Oh God, we pray for revival.
What You’ve done before,
You can do again.
Oh God, we pray for revival.
God of grace, God of salvation,
We are desperate on our knees.
You can save this generation.
Let revival be released.
Like a river running through the barren land
Let mercy flow, revive us again.
Move in power, save us by Your mighty hand
Let mercy flow, revive us again.
Like a river running through the barren land
Let mercy flow, revive us again.
Move in power, save us by Your mighty hand
Let mercy flow, revive us again.
Revive us again.’ (‘Revive Us Again’, Phil Wickham)
