Satisfaction In Simplicity

“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” (Isa 55:2 AV)

How obvious is this application?  This devotion almost writes itself.  Not context needed here because it is what it says.  There are some generations that know nothing about this.  The generation that lived through the great depression.  The generation that suffers at the hands of conquerors.  The generation that lives through times of famine or drought.  The generation that lives through the horrible atrocities of war.  These generations learned by the hard lessons which life can bring that merely having the basic necessities of life is satisfaction enough.  It is the generation that grows up in prosperity that struggles with contentment.  It is the generation where everything new is better that becomes dissatisfied with what they presently possess.  It is the generation which has failed to realize that labor is its own reward.  It is the generation that doesn’t have to expend any effort to have their needs met that cannot seem to come to a point where they all are met.

One of our favorite Christmas movies is A Christmas Carol.  We favor the rendition with George C Scott as Ebeneezer Scrooge.  It always impresses me how the vast majority of characters and situations playing in the background are content to celebrate the holiday with nothing more than a church service and time with family over a holiday meal.  There is not vast exchanging of gifts.  Not rush to shop and buy things.  No day after Christmas exchanges.  Several of the scenes are in the house of Bob Crochet.  They have several traditions.  There is the meal.  There is the toast.  Then there is signing Christmas carols around the fire.  One tradition which my family had was singing carols as we all played our instruments.  Mostly guitars.  I only remember a toy or two, but the times we spent signing praises to the LORD and other carols I will always fondly remember.  To this day, I wish we had done that with my own family.   It didn’t cost much.  It was immensely joyful.  The simple things.

The older I get the more I am learning to appreciate the simple things of life.  With my children and grandchildren all moved away, it is a blessing to date my wife all over again.  The things we enjoy the most don’t cost a whole lot.  A stroll in the zoo.  Grocery shopping or running errands together.  The things we thought were important all of a sudden are not all that important.  This year has been a difficult one health-wise.  It started in January with a couple of days in the hospital.  My wife and I were scared with a test result which came back in February.  This started a year long journey, looking at potentially very serious diagnoses.  But the LORD was good and even though they could have been life threatening, they are manageable.  It forced us to re-evaluate our lives and value the simple things.  These trials were a blessing in disguise.  Bread is enough.  A roof over our heads is enough.  Whatsapping our kids and grandkids is enough.  God is good and He always provides what we need.  Learning to be satisfied with the least we need takes a life time of experience, but in the end, it has great reward.