Christian women ought to be the happiest, most satisfied women on the planet. So why aren’t we? We know we should be, but we aren’t. We try to be, but we can’t. We throw out the catalogues and turn off the t.v., and tell ourselves that Jesus is more than enough, but we just don’t feel the fullness we know we are promised. What’s wrong? Barbara Hughes offers her reason:

…the rampant discontent among evangelical women stems from their shallow knowledge of the Bible. (Disciplines of a Godly Woman, p. 84)

Ouch!
The good thing is that within that answer she offers a remedy, that is, knowledge of God through His Word. She adds,

“Christians have lost confidence in God’s Word, as evidenced by the vast numbers who do not listen to it, read it, or study it–and most importantly apply its truths to their everyday lives.”

Listen to God’s Word
Have you ever looked around during a sermon to see who was awake and who was asleep? Who was whispering or passing notes? Who was taking notes and who was just barely keeping their eyes open? I’ve observed that many people do not listen. At the very least, they do not seem to be actively listening. While I try to model appropriate listening posture for my young ones, the littlest one is still quite squirmy and I sometimes have a difficult time listening. And getting up a couple of times a night to help someone settle down makes for sleepy mornings. Still, church attendance is a priority and we know the importance of hearing and listening to God’s Word. We go to church to hear good preaching and we read aloud from Bible each evening. Well, most evenings. There must be something special about the way God made the connections from our ears to our brains because His Word says quite a lot about hearing and listening to His Word. Here are a few verses:

• “Hear, O Israel!” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
• “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God…” (Exodus 15:26)
• “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)
• “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)
• “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Study God’s Word
Book stores are so full of Bible studies that I don’t know how to pick a good one. Personally, I don’t really enjoy fill-in-the-blank studies. I like to do the digging and reading myself. You don’t really need to spend $20 on study anyway. Just get your Bible, some paper, and a pen or pencil. God is using the Internet in a big way, too. This generation of believers has a vast array of free downloadable sermons and study helps at its fingertips! Bible study is no longer a discipline reserved for the scholar or pastor. The necessary books and tools are available for anyone who wants them. The more we study His Word, the greater our knowledge of who He is and how He acts toward His children will grow. Our love for Him will grow. Our delight in Him will grow. And our contentment in all that He is for us in Jesus will grow. (that last sentence is sooo John Piper;)

Apply God’s Word
This has to be one of the most difficult parts. We can have heads full of knowledge, but it does us very little good if we do not apply it to our own lives. It is so much simpler to apply the sermons I hear to someone else. I can hear a sermon and think to myself “So-and-so needs to hear this one,” when all the while I am the one God has put in the room to hear it.

• “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-24)

I try to do what I know God says is right and also pray for grace to do what pleases God. I want to know God’s word, but more importantly, I want my life to reflect the truth that is in my head. One good idea is to connect specific verses with the discontent I am feeling in my life.

Barbara Hughes ends each chapter of her book with several questions. It is an opportunity for deeper reflection and mind renewal. I’m going to end my blogging for the week with her last question. It’s a doosie!

“If contentment is found in a growing knowledge of God combined with trust in God regardless of your circumstances, what is missing from your Christian life when you are discontented–knowledge or trust?”