The story describes two men confined to a hospital room, one who could only lie down and the other who could sit up by the window for an hour each day. He would describe the scenes outside to his roommate. Over time, the roommate grew resentful that the other man had the window. One night, he did not help when the other man needed assistance and he died. When the surviving man's bed was moved to the window, he discovered there was only a brick wall outside. The story illustrates how focusing on what others have rather than being content with our own situation can lead to bitterness.

1. Outside My Window
Luke 12:15
Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even
when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
G.W. Target wrote a short story in 1973 called "The Window." It illustrates powerfully the choice
we all have of living for self or living for others:
Two men were confined to a hospital room due to their illnesses. One man had to lie on his back at
all times; the other had to sit up for one hour every day because of the accumulation of fluid in his
lungs. His bed was next to the only window in the room.
Each day for one hour, he would describe to the man in the hospital bed what he saw out the
window. The man in bed began to live for that hour; his roommate spoke of the beautiful lake down
below, describing the fishermen and the results of their efforts. Another day he described the
skyline of the city on the horizon and the busy lives of the people living there. Mountains in the
distance, capped with snow were reported on other days. And so the months and seasons passed
with these two men.
Eventually, the man confined on his back began to resent the reports from the window. He was
ashamed to admit it to himself, but it didn't seem fair that his roommate had a window by his bed.
In time, this resentment turned to anger, and then bitterness. One night he was awakened by the
coughing of the man next to him, desperately needing to clear his lungs. He looked over and saw
him stretching to reach the call button for the nurse. It would have been easy to push his own call
button, but he didn't. He chose to offer no help, and in a few moments the coughing ended. It was
replaced with labored wheezing, and finally . . . silence.
A few hours later the nurse discovered that the patient by the window had died during the night. His
body was removed from the room and the other man said quietly, "Since I am now alone in this
room, may I have my bed moved where I can look out the window?"
The nurse agreed, and after the bed had been moved and he was alone in the room again, he
summoned all his strength to pull himself up on his elbows. At last he would see all that awaited
him outside his window.
It was then that he made the discovery— outside the window there was nothing except a brick wall.
Contentment is sometimes a difficult thing for a believer. "Why does he have a better job . . . a nicer
house . . . a closer family . . . ? "
Why does the other person always get the window seat? Life just doesn't seem fair!
Romans 12:15 says to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep," meaning
that contentment is not only being joyful in what you have been given—great or small—but being
happy for others in what they have been given.
According to the words of Christ, happiness is not found in our possessions . . . but in our
perspective.
Prayer Point: Consider the needs God has met for you in the past week, and the ways He has
blessed you beyond those needs. If you have been envious of others, confess it to Him; ask Him to
give you the proper perspective on life to make you content in every circumstance.

2. Pull Up a Chair
John 17:3
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have
sent."
I read a gripping story of a godly old man whose days were coming to an end. A priest went to visit
him in his hospital room and noticed an empty chair beside the man's bed. He asked, "Have you had
a visitor?" The man replied, "No, I haven't had a visitor. But when I became a Christian as a youth,
someone told me that praying was like talking to your very best friend. When I heard that, I decided
to pull up an empty chair beside me every day and invite Christ to sit and talk with me. And I just
finished my conversation with the Lord."
After the man passed away, his daughter wrote of her visit to the hospital room. She said of her
father:
"He seemed content, so I left him for a few hours. When I returned, I knew that he had gone to be
with the Lord. But the interesting thing was that his head was not resting on his pillow. His body
had turned and his head was resting on the seat of an empty chair that had been pulled up close to
his bed."
Isn't that a remarkable picture? We, who are weak and frail like this dying man, have been given the
opportunity to rest our head on the loving, omnipotent breast of God. Death is only a continuation
of the pursuit we begin in this life to know God. That is why prayer is a taste of heaven on earth.
God, in His humility and love toward us, stepped down from His heavenly throne and seated
Himself upon the chair of our heart where we can intimately and personally converse with Him.
Perhaps prayer will become a personal conversation . . . if you pull up an empty chair.
Prayer Point: Go ahead—pull up a chair beside you right now and tell God how grateful you are
for His friendship. Spend a few moments talking with Him: tell Him your struggles, your joys, your
thoughts; ask Him your questions; thank Him for allowing you to have a conversation with Him,
much less a personal relationship with the Lord of all the universe.