Last night we were having a devotional about contentment and it caused me to reflect on something I had been studying a few days earlier. Have you ever felt like your life doesn’t count, that you aren’t accomplishing anything for the Lord? Do you sometimes look at others and consider what you’re doing in light of what you see? Yup… been there and done that.

Ever get the feeling like you just aren’t far enough out front or that what you’re doing isn’t of any value in the scheme of things? In my case it was always about wanting to be more than I am and wanting to do more than I am doing. The problem was that I wasn’t seeing things the way God wanted me to. I wasn’t doing all I needed to be doing where I was because my eyes and my flesh were focused on something else; something I desired.

The verse that hit me was in Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome.

Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

The whole Word of God is there for our instruction, but sometimes we forget the wonderful teaching that He provided us in the Old Testament for our learning – for our hope. In the Book of Deuteronomy there is a great example that puts this in perspective for us and challenges us to center our focus in the right place for the right reason.

1 Chron 26:18 At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

Not a very stimulating verse at first glance. But God has told us to meditate on His Word and search out His truth. Well with a challenge from a great teacher I gained some “truth.” This whole section of 1 Chronicles is dealing with the assignments of the sons of Levi to their various services. In the 25th chapter we read that they were “set apart” for their service:

1 Chron 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons…  26:12-13 Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the Lord. 13 And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate.

The sons of Levi were separated to minister in the house of the Lord. And note that they did not make the choice of where to serve… they cast lots. It was God who determined where they were to serve, and the sons of Kore (Korah) were chosen to be gate keepers:

1 Chron 26:18 At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar.

Prabar is the Hebrew word for the western colonnade (a line of columns), where the first rays of the morning sun fell on the hills to the west of the temple. One commentator believes this is where Jesus spoke His famous words:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

The sons of Korah were to stand at the western gate, 2 at the colonnade and 4 at the causeway. How awesome that God remembered all of these servants in His Word. Just simple men that took up the ministry that God had given them, not looking to or desiring the ministry of others. How do I know that? Because God remembered, and He told us for our learning – for our hope. Psalm 84 was written for or by the Sons of Korah:

Ps 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

These 6 sons of Korah were called by God, gifted by God, and set in their place of service by God. They were “content” to be the doorkeepers that God called them to be. Are we content or are we looking to be something else, trying to fulfill a service that we haven’t been called to? Not only are we missing out on becoming all God created us to be and to do, we find ourselves in a place of “discontentment.”

I’m not preaching here, I’m speaking from past experience. Until I dealt with my personal desires in relation to God’s desires for my life I often found myself in that position. But once I settled in my heart what God had called and chosen me to do, and committed to fulfilling that role in His kingdom, He filled my heart with “contentment.”

And here’s the lesson for us all. When we truly become His servants and minister unto Him in the role He has created for us, we then are doing our part in making His bride healthy, strong, bold, and empowered to be about her ministry of sharing the Gospel and making disciples. It doesn’t matter to God whether we have been called to serve in the pulpit, on the worship team, or cleaning the church. What matters to Him is that we “are” serving with all our heart, exactly where He has placed us. In His eyes, the challenge, the service, and the reward are all individual and are all the same.

We are all “members” of the bride and we all have an individual role. When we aren’t fulfilling our role we hurt the rest of the bride. That has been refreshed in my mind over the past 7 days. I had my big toe operated on and I assure you that it has affected the rest of my body.

We need to be just like that small band of 6 men who served Him at the western gate and gave Him praise for selecting them to be there. They didn’t want to be anywhere else! Are you where God wants you to be? If so, are you serving Him with all your heart? If not, I might suggest there’s a reason for your discontentment. Trust me, the Old Testament is full of examples of both sides of this coin.