by Rev. Elizabeth Rowley,
Spiritual Director
June 28, 2019
Divine discontent is a dissatisfaction with the way things are. Accompanied by a feeling of restlessness where something’s amiss, something’s askew, and you can’t quite put your finger on it. Divine discontent occurs when you compare what you are to what you know you have the power to become. We all yearn for greater personal capacity. Deep down, we know who we are.
In twelve step-programs, individuals are told they will only have to change one thing – everything. These individuals are going to need a whole new set of friends. The friends the twelve-stepper had before getting into the twelve-step program are those they formerly drank, used, overspent or overate with. The twelve-stepper is going to need a whole new set of friends instead of those they partied with all the time. It’s no longer a good fit, nor is it healthy for the twelve-stepper to be around.
Divine discontent doesn’t feel good, but it’s an essential aspect of your growth and evolution on this planet. You are being called into your next greatest yet to be. The new higher, freer, fuller, more expanded, and more fully self-expressed version of yourself is beckoning you. You’re going to need to shed the old patterns and life strategies of the past.
This inner urging you have toward something new may be something which is defined, and it might not be. The insistence will continue to grow, and unless you listen to it, the discontent will get worse. When you feel Divine discontent, lean into God and the message you’re receiving as you pray for clarity and ask, what is my next step? Ask God to guide you. When you receive clarity and guidance, it’s time to take action.
When we don’t pay attention to the Divine discontent, pray for clarity, and then act, we are acted on. Someone might describe it as being hit by a spiritual 2×4, or having the rug pulled out from under them.
I experienced Divine Discontent four years ago – I didn’t know what I would do next, but I knew I could no longer do what I was doing. The inner urging continued until one small experience ignited the shift and realization within me that would propel me forward. To be who I was called to be, I could no longer be who I currently was. I surrendered everything.
I moved to Grover Beach, where I lived in my parent’s guest bedroom one mile from the beach for almost one year. After five months of rest, prayer, healing, and connecting with the God of my understanding, I found a temp job and began to work again at the best job I’ve ever had. Shortly after that, I was engaged to be married and became the Spiritual Director for the Central Coast Center for Spiritual Living in Templeton.
Lean into Divine discontent and ask for God’s guidance, then take action. You’ll be amazed and delighted by what’s next.
And so it is.
