(~ 5 min read) Good morning. A father was out on a cold, snowy morning, stalking through the forest with his son on his first hunt. The young man had been preparing for years for the day as he had walked with his father on many hunts without a rifle, but now it was his turn to take the "big shot."
A brief rustle caused a dusting of snow to fly up in the air from a bush about 25 meters in front of the father and son. The young man took aim, but before he could take the shot on the four-point buck in his gun sights, a 12-point buck caught his eye, running in the opposite direction. The young man switched his sights to the larger buck and squeezed the trigger only to watch the mature deer dart behind a grove of trees as his shot missed. The smaller buck was now gone, leaving painful silence to fill the forest.
The young man sat on a fallen tree, discouraged with his loss as his father approached him.
"Son, you've learned a painful but powerful lesson for life. It's better to be content with what you have than chase what you think you need."
With tears flowing down his flushed cheeks, the young man nodded his acceptance of the truth his father gave him as they headed home.
Today's thought: "It's better to be content with what God's given us rather than losing everything important chasing what we think will make us happy."
Closing: Philippians 4: 11-13 NIV says, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Many know of verse 13, a testament to finding God's strength. But Paul is speaking not of God enabling anything we desire but trusting God to provide strength no matter what we face. Contentment provides strength and peace in our lives.