Is living satisfied a choice?

Every year I pick a word to focus my heart and mind on, and this year I landed on portion.

It encompasses the many ongoing challenges I have faced; moments when I don’t feel as though my career is where I want it to be, moments when I don’t feel equipped or confident as a mother or wife, moments when I don’t feel satisfied or strong in my body.

In the past I would reach for something or someone to fill those voids. I would sit in my own pity, complaining to friends about my dissatisfaction. I would blame others for my own unhappiness. I would do anything that would relieve me from the discomfort of not measuring up to my own standards. And yet this would only last for so long. It was a bandaid of sorts.

This year I have been meditating at night on a verse in psalms. In doing so, I am getting to know a lot more about King David, and who God was to him. In times of trouble and uncertainty, he chose God as his portion. “Portion” in Hebrew refers to an inheritance or allotment, and often is used in scripture as a reference to the property given to Israel when they entered the Promised Land.

The concept of an inheritance no longer holds this kind of significance. We think of the term and conjure up ideas of inheriting a business, some jewelry from our mother, or collectibles from a grandfather. But inheritance has deep theological roots. We see in Jeremiah that the Israelites came to learn that God Himself was the portion or inheritance of His people (Jeremiah 10:16). In the New Testament, the concept of inheritance is made clear as well, yet here we see it tethered to the person and work of Christ. Our inheritance is forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and an eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:15).

So what does this mean for us today? How can we keep these practices and principles at the forefront of our mind? I know for me, it isn’t always easy. I get busy, I get distracted, I get consumed by grabbing at the things I think will satisfy me, and come up short (which reinforces my dissatisfied heart).

I do believe we have to choose. We can continue on the rat race of clinging to sources that provide only temporary relief, or we can do the work of surrendering to and accepting the inheritance that is freely available to those who want it.

As a means of encouragement and a starting point for those of you interested, I am sharing with you a recent video lesson on this topic as it relates to women and body image. Here lies a ton of dissatisfaction in the hearts of many women I know.

We often view our bodies as something that should make us happy. Something that should build our confidence. A tool to give us children, or to bring us attention. We want it to look how we want, and do what we want, when we want. And if it doesn’t, we grow disappointed. But what happens is we don’t just stay disappointed in ourselves, we grow discontent with and disappointed in God.

My hope for this free video lesson (linked below) is to encourage you to begin to shift your perspective from the world’s narrative around the purpose of your body towards a biblical one. The teaching text is Psalm 16:5. Enjoy and feel free to forward to a friend!

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