Where is my hope?

Psalm 16 (NIV)

A miktam of David.

1 Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.

2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

I cannot change anything in my life. And even though I plan things,I shouldn't be surprised if they fail or don't turn out the way I planned if I didn't include God in my plans ahead of time. I think he evens laughs with us like we did/do when our children first tried/try things on their own for the first time. "I can do it myself!"

Nor would I want to change things: 1. because I would not grow or develope as I have, and 2. things could be worse.

I do take refuge in God. He is my protector every second and in every way. He has given me blessing more than I can count or remember. Without Him, I would have not understood all my blessings.

I have learned and found contentment. I admit, there are time when I WANT more things and I WANT less pain/inconvenience. I am human. But when I look to God, He reminds me of my portion and that he will give me what I need. I am secure in Him. I have found happiness where he has placed me. I may look at others' lives and wish I could be more like them, but then I wouldn't be who God wants me to be. He would have made me like them. I love it when He reminds of who I am, sometimes gently with a smile and sometimes (when I am so into myself) with a not so gentle botz on the butt. He has to get my attention someway!

I learned/accepted contentment when I went on a mission trip to Tijuana in 2007. The gracious hospitality and love of the people we worked with was overwhelming. These locals have very little yet they give everything for the church. They can take an old hand-me-down dingy shirt and mend it, wash and iron it and it looks like new. Mike and I have a small house (1,100 sq. feet) but their homes are smaller and house many more people. I could go on. Once exposed to this, it changed my thinking about WANTS. I have no right to complain about the material stuff.

I have set my eyes on God. When I look to God, no matter what the situation, it is easier to rejoice. As I rest in His Word, meditate, pray, I am able to sing His praise and glorify His name. I am not devoid of emotions or feeling, nor am I closed away to avoid the world. God has placed me where He wants me at the right time and the right place. I find comfort in that. He places people in my life that I need and places me in peoples' lives. I am His servant yet I am His child. I pray I can be obedient to Him.