No Internet

I'm counting down - last weekend I've submitted my request to cancel my Internet account at home, I hope, I will not be craving at night to view the web, and I hope I will not be missing out, at least not to worthless things.

Contentment

I have met many discontented people in my life. Always on the move. Forever arranging and rearranging their lives. Never satisfied with themselves or their circumstances. The underlying promise from which most of their decisions flow is that personal contentment is inextricably linked to one’s circumstances. In other words, a person’s surroundings – job, spouse, income, residence – determine peace of mind and satisfaction. Consequently, when they become dissatisfied with life, they begin changing things. They quit their job. They sell their house. They trade their car. Or in some cases, they look for a new marriage partner. Soon, however, that same feeling begins gnawing at them again. And off they go, making more changes.

Now if you will think about it, nobody needed a change of scenery more than the apostle Paul. His life seemed to go from bad to worse, [yet] he is still able to say, “For this reason I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NCV).

. . . Paul’s “secret,” as he referred to it in Phillippians, was his relationship with Christ. He discovered that true and lasting contentment is found not in things, but in a Person. He could be content in the most adverse circumstances because his aim in life was to be pleasing to the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:9). Knowing that he was where his Lord wanted him to be was enough. He did not need material props to bring him satisfaction.

You may say, “Well, that sounds mighty spiritual, but how realistic is it to think that we can find contentment outside the realm of our circumstances?” I believe it is extremely realistic. And I don’t believe this is a principle that applies to some elite group of believers. This kind of contentment is for all Christians . . . .

For Paul, learning to be content in every circumstance was a necessity. He would not have survived if this principle did not work. Yet . . . Paul did more than simply survive; he “reigned” in life through Christ (see Romans 5:17). Contentment is available to all of us, regardless of our circumstances, if we will only commit our lives to the purposes and plan of God.

Source: How to Handle Adversity by Charles Stanley as quoted in The Answer: To Happiness, Health, and Fulfillment in Life (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 749.

Move On

Ketika kita mengalami masalah dan setelah keluar dari masalah tersebut pun kita sering mendengar kata-kata seperti ini "You have to move on" - mungkin bisa diartikan sebagai "Maju terus" - Lupakanlah masa lalu, lihat ke masa depan yang lebih cerah dan jangan berhenti dan meratapi nasib. Kebanyakan kata-kata ini dipakai jika misalnya, ketika kita berpisah dengan pasangan kita.

Tapi bagi kebanyakan orang 'move on' itu berarti sudah harus mencari sesuatu yang lebih baik dari apa yang sudah kehilangan dalam hal ini pasangan yang baru, pengertian 'move on' seperti ini kurang bijak, bagaimana kita tahu bahwa pasangan yang baru itu lebih baik daripada pasangan yang lama? Apakah ketika kita tidak mendapatkan pasangan baru berarti kita belum 'move on'? Apakah ketika kita tidak ingin mencari penganti pasangan lama tersebut kita dapat dikategorikan bahwa kita belum 'move on'. Seolah-olah kata 'move on' ini disamakan dengan kita melupakan masa lalu kita dengan cara mendapatkan pasangan yang baru dalam hal ini.

Kata 'move on' memang bisa menjadi satu dorongan agar kita tidak tenggelam dengan masa lalu kita, namun kita harus hati-hati jangan sampai kata ini hanya menjadi cliche dalam pengunaannya.

Are You Distracted, Anxious, Or Troubled?

I did terrible things

Kara Zor-El: I did terrible things

Superman: Darkseid lives for manipulation. He has hypnotists, scientists and sadists...whose only functions are to break your spirit. Darkseid is evil.

Kara Zor-El: But did he influence me? or just bring out a darkness that is already there?

We're still trying to give orders‏

"The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us. " A.W.Tozer

Not so much our sins

"The main thing between you and God is not so much your sins; it's your damnable good works." John H. Gerstner

I still possess

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." Martin Luther