The Way to Contentment

As God would have it, this is the last written blog post by our dear friend, Edurne Mencia. Edurne unexpectedly passed away earlier this month on August 1st. While we rejoice that she is now at home with Jesus, we as a community have been grieving the loss of our dear friend this past month. Edurne leaves behind 3 young children, a loving husband, and numerous friends from around the world. I find it fitting that on a study focused on the importance of our words, we finish with Edurne’s last written words.

I pray her words will be a reminder to the importance of the words we speak, write and leave behind…they all matter!

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Thank you.

That´s a simple expression. But for many people, it´s a very difficult one to articulate.

When we say thank you, we recognize that moment when we needed someone else. Maybe we needed something small, like a spoon for the ice cream, or something bigger, like a hug in the waiting room before hearing the news your doctor had for you.

We don´t like to need others. We would rather live an independent life as modern, empowered women. However, God has called us over and over again to live in community, to be aware of the lives of other people, and allow them to be involved in our lives.

Thank you can also be hard to say when we don´t like what we receive.

Do you remember those ugly sweaters you got from your aunt every single Christmas? You opened the box with expectation and your smile slowly faded when you saw the sweater. And then, you forced a “thank you” between your teeth.

We do the same with God.

When He answers our prayers exactly how and when we expected Him to do it, when He provides for us beyond our expectations, when He heals, or when He intervenes in a desperate situation our mouths fill with gratitude and praise.

But what about those things you´ve been praying about for years? Those answers He has not given you? Those plans that have drastically changed in your life? Do our mouths speak gratitude when our world collapses? Do we bless the Lord and rejoice in Him?

Until we understand that gratitude is not the result of things or events, but a certainty instilled in our hearts because of the work God has already done for us, we will be condemned to a life of ungratefulness and discontentment.

Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.

• Psalm 145:2-4

When we are daughters of the Almighty, this must be the attitude of our hearts:

• I bless You, Lord.
• I praise Your name forever and ever, Lord.
• You are Great, Lord.
• I thank You, Lord.

Regardless of the circumstances and events in our lives, our mouths must be filled with praise and gratitude. Does it mean we can´t complain or break or be sad? Not at all, friend. Many of my grateful moments have been like this:

• …God. I don´t understand why You´re doing this. But I trust You have a reason. I thank You because You have a plan.
• …Oh Lord, You haven´t answered me. Please, help me bless Your name. Give me the strength to praise You in the middle of my storm.
• …Father, I can´t take this anymore. Thank You for being with me.

Being a Christian doesn´t make us a robot. We cry, we complain, we feel desperate. When things don´t come out the way we expected, or when sadness and fear knock on our door and loneliness is our companion, gratitude and praise vanish from our mouths.

But I hope that, after these four weeks studying verse after verse what the Bible says about the tongue and the ways we are called to use it, we will live out what we have learned.

Regardless of the circumstances, make a habit of praising and thanking God for everything. For the good, the bad, and the ugly. Praise and gratitude are the only path to contentment.