Today’s Word Is … DISSATISFACTION

Welcome to Today’s Word Is … A Daily Devotion (Mon-Fri) by Chaplain Mark Davis … If this made a difference in your life today, please leave me a comment.

Over the years the disagreements between my wife and myself have gradually diminished to very few occurrences. And hurray! … we just recently celebrated our 37^th wedding anniversary! Whatever skirmishes we have are minor and mostly humorous. But I can recall a day about three years ago when we hit a bump. Each of us was dealing with our own bothersome physical issues, plus some other stresses such as moving to a new home.

Bad days are fairly infrequent for us, and when they occur it usually works out that the one doing OK supports the one having the bad day. But … on that particular day we decided (not really) to each have our own bad day on the same day … and express it forcefully! Such times can cause intense feelings of dissatisfaction. Through the early years I occasionally thought I should just leave, and although I’m afraid to ask (LOL), I’m pretty sure she had the some thought a few times. (Or maybe quite a few times … gulp!)

In the Bible (John chapter 6), the multitude of followers of Jesus were having a rough time with some of his “difficult” teachings, to the point that many of them decided to leave. The “chosen” twelve disciples must have been struggling with the same inner conflict, and Jesus asked them if they, too, wanted to leave. But the disciple Simon Peter blurted out a gem of a confession at this point.

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:66-68)

Back to my story … For both my wife and I to be tired, cranky, and emotionally upset on the same day seemed like an enormous challenge, one which might have made us question if we could keep going. Frankly, this had probably been building for quite a few days. What do you do when this happens? As people of faith we can learn something from Simon Peter about what is the right question to ask. If we look to the God of our faith and into our inner being, the truth is obvious. After all, that same belief, foundation, attachment, and love that we have (and the disciples had) with Jesus, is also true for us in our marriage.  … “Where would I go?” … and we know the answer … “You are the one.”

Many people give up on faith, marriages, jobs, friends, etc. because they jump without considering the question, “Where would I go?” That’s worth thinking about. Is there something you are about to give up on? Obviously, some things need to be abandoned, but in the case of faith or marriage or other things that God has a plan for, we need to ask, “where would I go?” The Holy Spirit reminded Simon Peter that the best place was right where he was, despite the struggle.

A few times in various circumstances of my life, I have jumped when I shouldn’t have. We all have done that. And Dr. Phil would gladly jump in and say, “And how’s that working for you?”

Sometimes dissatisfaction gives us the chance to see that we are where we are for a reason.

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

P.S. If my wife is not OK with this post, I am believe I am in big trouble. (I love you, honey!)