When my mother learned that my husband and I were moving forward with our plans to foster children, she looked at us with questioning eyes.
“Why the reservation?” I asked.
“Your home is too small,” she replied in the sincerest voice she could muster.
“Is my home too small?” I pondered. “Is it really too small to help children in crisis?”
Although my mom eventually answered with her heart, giving us the thumbs-up, I have to admit that she was thinking in some pretty practical terms. She was considering my home’s limited square footage, the fact that my large family shares one bathroom (a miracle that God works out every day on our behalf!) and that we’d have to convert our home school room to create additional sleeping quarters.
And while these are all very practical matters, I, on the other hand was considering purpose and destiny: an opportunity to love the “least of these” and to influence a precious child with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It’s so easy for us to look at what we don’t have and long for something more. It’s an affliction that I’ve struggled with, any maybe you have, too? Does that make us discontented weirdos? Not really, for even the Bible confirms “the eyes of man are never satisfied” (Proverbs 27:20).
In fact, Jesus’ very own disciples overlooked God’s sufficiency for their lives. When thousands of people following Jesus needed to be fed his disciples suggested sending them away due to lack of food. (Matthew 14:15)
However, “Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (v. 16)
Yet his disciples only saw what they lacked, surmising what they had on hand to be insufficient: “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.” (v. 17)
In other words: Not enough, Lord. Not enough!
However, when we gain an eternal perspective of house and home, we will quickly realize that our home is more than enough, and just like Paul, we will be able to say, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, … I can do all this through him [Jesus] who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12).
Our home is God’s appointed provision for our family. Accepting God’s sovereignty for our lives helps us to cultivate a heart of contentment. So, no matter where we make our abode – be it an apartment in the city, a house in the suburbs, or a thatched hut wherever – we can be sure that it’s all we need to love our husband well, raise children to be strong in faith, and make a life that honors God.
God satisfies us with his salvation, He fills our heart with thanksgiving, and he births within us a spirit of contentment. All of these treasures bring life to our family, and to our home.
No matter how small my home is – or how large yours may be – with Jesus, our home is enough.
From my home to yours,
Tiffiney
Chime in: What has helped you to overcome a discontented heart? Share your thoughts below. I’d love to hear from you!
for pinning!
This post was adapted from Welcome Home Ministry’s new 20-day devotional entitled “Because of Jesus, My Home Is…”
This devotional will inspire you to love your home, equip you to successfully build your home, and deepen your intimacy with God, based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Once you sign up, you’ll receive a welcome letter and then a daily email for twenty days with a scripture verse, a devotional, and a prayer – all designed to help you discover how the rich blessings of your union with Christ uniquely impact your home.
Click here for your free copy.
Join me for 30 Days of Giving Thanks on Instagram!
Join me everyday this November on Welcome Home Ministry’s Instagram and Facebook page for a special celebration of Thanksgiving unto God. I’ll be sharing daily about what I’m thankful for, and I’d love for you to share, too!
Come and check out where I party
Tiffiney! I just love this series, and this entry is especially good. The Bible means what it says: “godliness with contentment is great gain.” Isn’t it the truth?! Have you seen my new book about overcoming comparison? I struggled with that for so many years. (Mythical Me: Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison just came out from IVP.)
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!
Thank you for the feature, Richella. I can’t wait to get my hands on your book. Sounds like a must read.
What an important lesson that we can apply to so many things. Enough! We have enough. If Jesus calls us to do something, we can trust that he has equipped us with the right tools to do it.
Amen, Lisa!
Thank you for sharing this! We are soon to welcome our third child and we’ve gone back and forth with whether or not our home has enough space for us all. We have committed to staying for now and are working to organize, declutter, and make our home a place for us all to love, grow, and thrive.
This is a great reminder about the purpose and provision of our homes and how we can be content and intentional within them!
“home: a place for us all to love, grow, and thrive”… I love that, Mary! I couldn’t have said it better myself.
This is a very encouraging post, Tiffiney. My husband and I have been considering fostering/adopting but always come back to the fact that our home is small. Our small mobile home just doesn’t seem adequate. But I like what you said about God’s provision in our home. Lately, I’ve tried to be grateful for what God’s provided, which has helped to see my home as His provision instead of ‘not enough.’
Hey, Ash! I understand what you’re saying completely. But I love how the Lord takes our supposedly “not enough” offering and makes it fitting to do his bidding.
I’ve seen it here as well, Tiffiney–the way God takes my “not enough” and makes it plenty!
Blessings to you as you live the beauty of that story every day.
Thanks for stopping by, Michele. I always appreciate your offering.
I just finished cleaning and I am sitting enjoying my apartment my prayer is for our home to be full of joy and peace and the presence of God. That we find joy in our present and choose obedience always. Your article just reinforced that for me thanks much for sharing.
That our homes would be “full of joy and peace and the presence of God.”…that is my prayer, too, Jiselle. Thank you for sharing.
Tiffiney, I had a bit of troubling pointing to one single thing that has helped me be content, but maybe it’s what you say here: “Accepting God’s sovereignty for our lives helps us to cultivate a heart of contentment.” Wonderful post, and good for you for not worrying about square footage and extra bathrooms when you decided to welcome foster children into your home. 🙂
Sometimes it’s not one single thing, Lois. Sometimes it’s many things. Thanks for sharing. 🙂