Contentment

I was flipping through Secure in the Everlasting Arms by Elisabeth Elliot yesterday. A paragraph caught my eye. It reminded me of Hebrews 13:5: Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Now, read the last 8 words beginning with 'thee'. THEE FORSAKE NOR THEE LEAVE NEVER WILL I! How rich is that! Scot says that verse is good coming and going. Here is the paragraph that I want to share with you:

E.B. Pusey (1800-1882) suggested rules for those who wish to gain contentment that surely reflect Jesus' own attitude:

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even the weather.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou are not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou doest thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."