Desert Seasons of Life: Discontentment

Desert Seasons of Life: Discontentment

Desert Series

Are you in a desert season of your life? Do you feel like you're a target of the enemy? Do you feel like your cup is half empty? God wants us to be joyful during every season of our life and in this post I will present ways to keep the right perspective during a desert season and not allow discontent to sweep in.

I'd like to start by saying don't be shocked when God leads you into a desert season. I was lead to the job that I'm currently working at and sometimes I wonder why God led me here because of various hardships, but over this past week I've been reminded that God led many people into a desert season in the bible. He led the children of Israel and Jesus into the desert literally. God has a purpose and a reason of leading us into the desert. In some cases He is preparing us, testing us, strengthening us, or causing us to completely rely on Him. Whatever the reason, we can completely trust that we are in this desert season for a reason. But if we don't see the purpose of our desert, if we're not careful we can question if we're supposed to be here, seek to escape before the right time, or grow discontent and allow ourselves to murmur and complain or try to obtain desires before the right time. 

In Numbers chapter 11, the children of Israel started desiring to return to Egypt for verses 4-6 says, "And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting; and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried way; there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." Here the Israelites started wondering why they left Egypt. Sometimes when we are in a desert season we become nostalgic about our past and want to relive a time, which we consider to be the glory days, but God wants us to live for the here and now and desires for us to continue to grow and forget those things that are behind and move forward (Phil 3:12). In the past, we are not who we are today. In the past, we didn't know what we know today in God.  We can't grow in the grace of God if we don't move forward. God seeks to do a new thing in you now! If you want to continue to grow in the grace of God, then you can't live in the past, you must live in the here and now. You can't be effective for God in the here and now if you live in the past or the future. Verse 6 of Numbers 11 says that they fell a lusting while they were in the desert. In your desert season have you began to desire a change? Have you desired to leave a job when it wasn't time to leave? I have to admit that I've desired things that are good. But if you desire a good thing before the right time then you've become discontent with your current lot in life. You've taken your eyes off of your current state in life and placed them on something that you've yet to attain or something that you want to relive in the past. This can create a sense of discontent which can lead to murmuring and complaining. 

In verse 5 they became discontent with manna (from heaven) and started thinking about cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlick. God wanted to bless them with milk and honey and many other delicacies in the promised land but they desired a good thing before the time. They desired things from Egypt so much that they begin to despise the manna that came from the very heavens. In a desert season of our life we can sometimes ignore the things that God has blessed us with. We can overlook the special people in our life, the favor we have with God and man, and the fact that all of our needs are met. Discontent can cause us to overlook all the good in our lives and focus on the one thing that we don't have. In Phillipians 4:11-12 it reads, "Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." In this christian walk, we must learn to be content during times of plenty and in times of drought. We ought to be content when our desires are fulfilled and also when our desires haven't been fulfilled and when we are hungry for them to become a reality in our life. We will experience times of abundance and times of need but we are instructed to always be content by being content with what we DO have and getting our joy and fulfillment in Christ. 

Furthermore, in verse 6 of Numbers 11 it says "But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes." When it seems like we are in a dry place, that is when we experience the most fulfillment because sometimes it is during these times that we realize that our complete fulfillment comes from Christ. We lean on God like no one else. We realize that true, abiding joy comes from God and God alone. In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul provides admonishment for verse 1-7a reads "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters as were some of them." 

As the body of Christ, we have all been baptized and accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts, but is God well pleased with us? Verse 6 denotes that we should use the children of Israel in the desert as our example so that we will not lust after evil things. And verse 7 commands us not to be idolaters. If we feel like we have to have something outside of God's timing, then we may be idolizing that desire in our life. But if we keep the right perspective and find our fulfillment in Christ alone then we won't idolize our desires. Verse 10 of 1 Corinthians reads, " Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer." They murmured because they were discontent. 

A few days ago, I realized that I had grown discontent and had taken my eyes off God's blessings in my life, and had taken the devil's bait, and focused on only the things that I didn't have. And as I looked back over my life I've realized how in each season I've looked ahead at what I didn't have and wasn't always completely thankful for the current season in my life. And I asked God to forgive me. May we all focus on God's blessing in our lives and constantly thank Him regardless of the season of life we are currently experiencing.

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Photography by: Dennis Behm

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