Based on "Respectable Sins" by Jerry Bridges, this lesson tackles the subject of being discontent with our circumstances. Specifically, this lesson addresses issues of physical disability and how to glorify God no matter your physical situation.

1. Discontentment
Based on Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

2. Discontentment often arises from ongoing and
unchanging circumstances that we can do
nothing about.
 There are legitimate and non-sinful reasons to be discontent.
 We should all be unsatisfied with our spiritual growth and strive to grow more. If
we don’t, we will stop growing and stagnate.
 There is also a time and place for being discontent with injustice and evils in
society that is coupled with a desire to see positive change.
 Sinful discontentment is something that negatively affects our relationship with
God.
 We are going to address the common attitude among Christians triggered by
unchanging circumstances that are trials of our faith.

3.  Some examples of unchanging circumstances: an unfulfilling, low-paying job;
being single into middle age; an unhappy marriage; physical disability; continual
poor health.
 Sometimes the cause of our discontentment may even be trivial. I hate paperwork,
but it is a necessary and never-ending part of the job.
 It is our response to our circumstances rather than the degree of difficulty that
determines whether or not we are discontent.
 We are so used to responding to difficult circumstances with fear, anger, or
discontentment that we consider them normal reactions. We need to recognize
these as sin, subtle as they are.
 When we respond in this fashion, we are responding no differently from
unbelievers who never factor God into their situations. (And we are back to
ungodliness!)
 Discontentment can easily lead to resentment or bitterness toward God or other
people.
 Psalm 139:16

4.  We used this verse to talk about anger (frustration).
 The same truth that God has ordained all our days, with all their ups and downs,
their blessings and disappointments, can help us deal with circumstances that
tempt us to be discontent.
 Whatever your circumstances, and however difficult they may be, the truth is they
are ordained by God for you as part of His overall plan for your life.
 Jeremiah 29:11
 God does nothing and allows nothing without a purpose, and that purpose is His
glory and your good.
 If you have a physical disability or a physical appearance issue, Psalm 139:13 can
help.
 God so directed the DNA and other biological factors that determine our physical
makeup that the Psalmist says “God formed me in my mother’s womb!”
 God made us, and made us the way we are because that is how we can best fulfill
His plan for our lives.

5.  For some with severe disabilities, that plan may at times seem meaningless.
 If we believe that we are who we are and what we are because that is the way God
made us, then we can learn to accept our disabilities and believe that He can even
use them to glorify Himself.
 It is only in acceptance that we find peace in these situations.
 Acceptance means that you accept your circumstances from God, trusting that He
unerringly knows what is best for you and that He is love.
 You can ask God to let you use your difficult circumstances to glorify Him. This
moves you from an attitude of a victim to an attitude of stewardship.
 We are of course invited to pray about our physical circumstances, but we should
always pray in confidence that our loving God knows what is best for us and be
willing to accept His answer.
 Job 1:20-22
 The underlying theme of this lesson is the importance of a firm belief in the
sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness of God.

6.  Whether our circumstances are short-term or long-term, our ability to respond to
them in a way that honors and pleases God depends on our ability and willingness
to bring these truths to bear on them.
 This lesson may have touched a few raw nerves, especially when I refer to
discontentment as sin. Both the author of the book and I have dealt with
discontentment and physical issues. I pray that these verses and thoughts will help
you move toward a positive attitude of being stewards of the difficult and
disappointing circumstances God has given us so that we may somehow glorify
Him in all of life.