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Content, Thankful, But What's Next? - Part 3 - What's Next?

by Jerry Ousley  
4/12/2013 / Dating

I've got a brother-in-law who has always been a very hard worker. He landed a job one time at a coveted factory. It was one of the largest employers in the area and paid very good money. Consequently it was tough to get hired there. He had managed to land a janitorial job even though he was capable of doing much more, but he was thankful to get what he got and eagerly showed up for work that first night.

Like I said, he was a very hard worker. All the other jobs he had done in his life demanded that he get as much done in a shift as he possibly could, so he was used to working fast and hard. This new employer had a reputation of working at a very slow pace and it was common-place to even see a worker reading a newspaper during his shift.

My brother-in-law's boss gave him a block of restrooms to clean and so he went to work. By lunch time he had finished his assignment and went to his supervisor and said, "I'm finished with those restrooms, what should I do after lunch? What's next?" His supervisor looked at him in disbelief, scratched his head and said, "Man, that was supposed to last you all week!"

As we have said, we must learn to be content and thankful. When we are content with where God has placed us and with the things He has allowed us, and we are thankful for the same, it gives the Lord the ammunition to use us like we never thought possible.

But that doesn't mean that we just sit down in "la la land." We must be content with what God has given us but we should never be content with our current relationship with Him. Our Christian experience is one that is constantly growing. We are like a river winding its way through life; always flowing and always moving.

We should be thankful for what God has given us. We are to be thankful in all situations as to how God has worked in them. But that doesn't mean that we stop there. We've got to keep on going. We've got to be asking the Lord, "What's next?"

There is a great truth to be learned and it is one that will help us to be content and thankful but keep on moving. It is that everything God gives us, every situation we may find ourselves (whether good or bad), and every dollar we earn is given to us by God to enhance the kingdom service that we are called to do. When we know this then it all sort of falls into place. We know that God has structured our lives to fit the pattern He has built for us. It means that He is directing us down the road we are to travel. We are all called to work in the field of God. Each of us has his or her own special talents, abilities, and skills that God has designed into our lives. He will supply the things or tools we need to get the job done. Our blessings aren't just to make us happy and content but are to aid us in the mission we are to accomplish for the kingdom of God. That mission could be to spend hours in prayer (God knows we need great prayer warriors today). Your mission could be in traveling or public speaking, or in witnessing to the person who works next to you, or the individual laying in a hospital bed beside you. When we come to the place that we know that our every waking moment and all that God allows in our lives is to fulfill His plan in us, then we can really come to the place that we are content, happy, and thankful. We are fulfilling the will of God and there is great satisfaction in that.

Be content. Be happy. Be thankful. But don't ever be satisfied with your current relationship with God. Always be looking to grow and move on asking God, "What's next Lord?"

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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