Divine Discontent: Beyond and Above
Ps 84:2 My soul longs , yea, even faints
for the courts of the LORD : my heart and my flesh cries out for the living God
. 42:1 As the hart pants after the water
brooks , so pants my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirst for God , for the
living God : when shall I come and appear before God ? 63:1-3
O God , thou art my God ; early will I seek thee: my soul thirst for
thee, my flesh long for thee in a dry and thirsty land , where no water
is; To see thy power and thy glory , so
as I have seen thee in the sanctuary .
143:4-6Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me
is desolate . I remember the days of old
; I meditate on all thy works ; I muse on the work of thy hands . I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul
thirst after thee, as a thirsty land . Selah .
No
doubt David enjoyed the peace of God, which passes understanding. However,
clearly from the above scriptures and others,
repeatedly David expressed how he was unsettled in his spiritual
experience. He was longing for more. He was convinced that there was more than
what he had attained. He was crying for
something deeper. His heart was panting for God. He was thirsty like a dry land.
He had an insatiable hunger to see the glory and power of God. He was like Abraham who longed for a better
city (Hebrews 11:16). Isaiah saw God and
cried he was a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6). There is a feeling of
restlessness you get when God comes into your life. When your spiritual eyes are opened you begin
to see possibilities you would not fathom before that make you dissatisfied
with the status quo and stagnation. Seeing with God’s eyes you catch a glimpse of Gods best in view of the current.
The conviction that the best in God is yet to come is called divine
discontentment. A burden that
relentlessly seeks relief. The more you
know God the stronger the desire to progress beyond and above what you have seen,
heard, done, known and possessed before.
It can be so strong that you can be a spiritual celebrity applauded by
everyone yet you remain unimpressed because your eyes are fixed on Jesus.
When
training in high jump the trainer keeps increasing the bar to stretch and help
the trainee discover their potential. Divine discontent is God’s instrument to
grow his people and to bring the best out of them. When teaching children to walk you hold them
and let them walk on their own and you keep going further and further from them
so that they can also walk further and further on their own. Each time their fulfilment is derived
from shattering their previous record.
Spiritual growth also requires
challenging goals. The following
are key elements of divine discontent.
>> Conviction that the status quo
is not enough.
Realisation that second best doest have to be and doesn’t need to be. A cry – I refuse to remain the same. Things
cant remain the same. You cannot die as you are. Such conviction comes from an awareness of
gods plumb line. It comes from seeing from God’s perspective. Measuring your
life in the light of God’s standard.
comparing your plan with God’s plan. Measuring where you are and where
God wants you to be. Discovering the gap between you and God’s promises and what is possible in faith.
The revelation of the ideal produces disappointment with an inferior status
quo. Seeing your reality with God’s
eyes raises the awareness of your need for God. Realising the grace that is available from
God raises the awareness of your opportunity in God.
>> Confidence in God for positive
change.
Experiencing a need for God without faith results in frustration, distress,
depression, despondency, discouragement and the other Ds. But faith believes that things can certainly change. Faith comes from knowing your position, privileges and rights in Christ. Faith is unswerving confidence in God’s
grace. Faith changes your valley of
trouble to a door of hope/opportunity/possibility (Hosea 2:15-16). the gap
between you r situation and God’s is the door of hope. You realise its just a
starting point or work in progress otherwise the future is great (Psalm 42:5, 11, 43:5) You can begin to encourage
your souls like David - Why art thou cast down , O my soul ? and why art thou
disquieted within me? hope in God : for I shall yet praise him, who is the
health of my countenance , and my God.
When did you last speak to your soul. Tell your soul to behave with
hope.
>>Compelling desire to do
something. Its not easy to ignore divine discontent. It
makes you realise you can do it and urges you to take action. Action comes from
choices. Capacity comes from
spiritual growth and
training. Motivation activates capacity
and comes from divine revelation. Where
there is divine revelation, capacity and motivation release competent action.
The combination makes the desire for action
irresistible. It cannot be
ignored. It becomes as fire shut up in one’s bones (Jeremiah 20:9). You want to pursue and align with your
heart’s burning. You long for God as the
dear pants for the water brooks. My observation
when I herded cattle was that when released
from the kraal cattle go straight to the water hole. they know where it
is, they find their way and are not distracted.
If freed to do as you wish where
do you gravitate.
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• Divine discontent makes you resort to
desperate measures.
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In
1 Samuel 1 Hanna prayed moving her mouth without speaking audible words. She
desired to see God’s glory regarding her need for a son. She had no interest
with impressive vocabulary. She offered what went beyond a request to a cry of
the heart. In the process she dedicated
Samuel to God before even born. Divine
discontent aligns you with divine purpose.
It makes you commit your best effort, investment etc to serving God.
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In Genesis 32 Jacob was so hungry for blessing
that he wrestled with the angel of the Lord. He refused to let him go until he
was blessed.
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In
Mark 5:25 a certain woman with an issue
of blood was desperate for healing that she touched the helm of Jesus’ garment.
She overcame the stigma from her illness, she pressed through the crowd. She
decided what she would do for her healing without attending school of healing.
She knew that even if Jesus does did not touch her she could touch him. She got
healed as a result. In
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Mark
10:46 blind Bathemeus refused to be silenced. The more they tried the more
louder he cried out. He called until Jesus had to stop and pay attention to
him. He received his sight as a result.
He refused to be crowded out because he believed the power of the
compassion of Christ.
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In
Luke 19:5 Zacchaeus desired to see Jesus so much he would not let his stature
and attitudes of people fail him. To see Jesus he climbed up a tree and drew
the attention of Jesus. He ended up hosting him in his home and being saved.
God honoured the desperate measures taken by these and many others recorded in
the Bible. A humble and contrite heart he does not despise. Desperate
situations demand desperate measures.
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• Divine
discontent makes everything else meaningless. In Esther 4 Esther desired
the preservation of the people of God so much that she said if I perish I perish. In Genesis 30:1 Rachel
wanted a child so much she said to Jacob
‘give me children or I die’. They had
such a divine discontent that life became meaningless without God’s answer.
They gave away pride, reputation, and forgot about what people thought. Is
the spiritual burden you carry so strong
that sleep becomes meaningless, a meal becomes meaningless and nothing but God
in the situation matters. when carrying
a heavy load nothing else matters even your step. When can still sleep in your
desperation you are not yet desperate.
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• Divine discontent makes you hold on
to God. Divine discontent comes from God and finds
its remedy in God. If you are drifting from God you are not experiencing divine
discontent. Divine discontent pulls you
closer to God. . It is not about running
to action but running to God. Hanna
appealed to. Jacob wrestled with God and
the certain woman touched God. They were determined to get their answer. They
were determined to do to God to access their solutions. They wanted his instruction. They closed all
other options. Many people do not get
the best because they have inferior options to fall back on.
Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.
Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,
204B Bram Fischer drive,
Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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