Secret of Being Content

Chuckle: "A pastor resigned from one church because of health and exhaustion . . . They were sick and tired of him!"

Good Quote: "Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires makes a wise and a happy purchase." --Balguy

". . . . for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. . . . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-12).

Two little teardrops were floating down the river of life. One asked, "Who are you?" "I'm a teardrop from a girl who loved a man and lost him. But who are you?" The first teardrop replied, "I'm a teardrop from the girl who got him!"

Life is like that. We cry for things we can't have, but we might cry twice as hard if we had received them. Jesus spoke often of qualities that produce peace and contentment. Do you know individuals you would classify as content? Are you content with your life? Do others think of you when they name contented people?

I am convinced that it is a greater challenge to be content while having much and using it properly with a Christlike spirit, than it is while having little. Often it seems that the more we have, the more we want -- never quite satisfied or content. Notice that Paul said, "I have learned the secret of being content." Contentment is not a trait that is obtained naturally -- it is a supernatural condition available for Christians who have learned its secret.

Learning to be content is a process which takes time. You can't expect to master skiing or golf the first time you try. You must learn. Paul said he had learned to be content even while in prison chains. His contentment did not depend on external circumstances. He noted the terrible circumstances in which he learned contentment in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27. His tutor was the "God of peace."

Contentment doesn't mean you necessarily like your circumstances -- it means you have confidence that God is involved with you in them. It's the surrender of ourselves into his care. We have to accept the fact that God is in control not us. We must move from "my timing, my way, my outcome" to "God's timing, God's way, God's outcome." It's all about Christ. With Christ we can learn to say, "I can do everything (including being content) through Christ who gives me strength." It is Christ's power that lets us to rise above our worrisome, frustrating circumstances and say, "It is well with my soul."

"A story is told of a king who was suffering from a mysterious ailment and was advised by his astrologer that he would be cured if the shirt of a contented man was brought for him to wear. People went out to all parts of the kingdom looking for such a person, and after a long search they found a man who was really happy and content. But he did not have a shirt."

Love, Jerry & Dotse