“Learning to Be Content”

Contentment is the ultimate acceptance of yourself, your surroundings, your past, your present, and your future.

For a believer, finding contentment should be effortless. After all, Jesus has paid the price for your sin and has given you a secure future of eternity in His presence, free of all pain and sorrow: Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself]” (AMP); Revelation 21:4, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away” (AMP).

In other words, the suffering you experience now should be viewed in light of an eternity to be spent with the Savior (Revelation 21:7, “He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son” AMP).

You see, God provided a way for you to be rescued from an eternity in hell – and He is sufficient to meet your needs in this world that He created (Philippians 4:13, 19, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency…And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” AMP). Christ has empowered you with inner strength, and He has promised to meet your every need. Therefore, why do you worry? Why are you stressed? Why are you refusing to rest in contentment?

Well, I will admit, even with these promises, reaching this blessed state of contentment is not always an easy task. Think about it: Satisfaction when you have very real unmet needs, freedom from worry when you have overwhelming concerns, patience in letting God work when pressures abound – these seem like impossible dreams. Happiness – despite heartaches caused by the past, in the midst of tragedies experienced in the present, based on promises trusted for the future – is not merely a human pursuit but demands spiritual resources only found in the indwelling Holy Spirit. In other words, you can’t get this in any way, shape, form or fashion, it comes only by the Presence of the Holy Spirit.

And yet, amazingly, God chose not to give you contentment as a gift. Instead, He chose rather to teach you to be content as you allow Him to be ruler in your life. Contentment therefore, is not given, it’s learned (Philippians 4:11, “Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have LEARNED how to be CONTENT (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am” AMP). The School of Contentment is an Ever-Growing Education that You Never Graduate From! At every stage and state in life, you will need to learn to grow more in contentment. Whether married or single, divorced or widowed, young or old, male or female, rich or poor, CEO or unemployed, 5 children or child-less, living in a mansion or a basement room, taking the bus or driving a Mercedes, in jeans and a t-shirt or trendy name-brand suit, leader or laity, ALL will need to continue to learn contentment. Regardless of your education, background, ethnicity, hair length or texture, culture, skin-tone or status in life, ALL will need contentment to keep you from misery.

However, as you trust God’s gifts to be sufficient and His assignments to be appropriate, you can accept the way you look, the means you have been given, the family in which you are living, the struggles through which you have gone, the job you have, and more, while being content and fulfilled in it all (2 Corinthians 3:5-6, “Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability) of ourselves to form personal judgments or to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God. [It is He] Who has qualified us [making us to be fit and worthy and sufficient] as ministers and dispensers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not [ministers] of the letter (of legally written code) but of the Spirit; for the code [of the Law] kills, but the [Holy] Spirit makes alive” (AMP); 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” AMP). In other words, when your sufficiency and strength come from God, contentment becomes even easier to accept as a lifestyle!

On the other hand, acceptance does not mean stagnation! Dissatisfaction with areas in your life that can be changed, within divine guidelines, may help you to see that something is missing. When this happens, you dare not adopt the “Canaan” syndrome of complaining. Remember that God’s people were not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of their murmuring (Numbers 14:27-30, “How long will this evil congregation murmur against Me? I have heard the complaints the Israelites murmur against Me. Tell them, As I live, says the Lord, what you have said in My hearing I will do to you; Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness – of all who were numbered of you, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me, Surely none shall come into the land in which I swore to make you dwell, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” AMP). When the choice is between Contentment and Complaining, ALWAYS CHOOSE CONTENTMENT!

Take dissatisfaction to the Lord and see what He would challenge you to do, being willing in the meantime to be “Content” as you work toward ultimate goals. This is what you call the balance between “I have learned to be content”, and “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:11, 13).

You must trust that God has given you everything needed for this moment in time. You should be content with yourself, your family, your surroundings, your job, even your past, bad choices, poor judgments and mistakes. As you depend on the Lord, you are content as you pursue His goals for your life.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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.” {Philippians 4:12 NIV}

Believe it or not, Sometimes Contentment Simply Means:

1. LEARNING TO BE HAPPY WITH LESS: A hard-charging executive decided to spend a few days in a monastery. “I hope your stay is a blessed one,” said the monk who showed him to his cell. “If you need anything let us know. We’ll teach you how to live without it.” As comical as that sounds, happiness isn’t getting what you want, IT’S ENJOYING WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY GIVEN YOU! Paul said he had learned to be content, “…whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13 NIV). John Balguy said it best, “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.”

2. REMINDING YOURSELF THINGS COULD BE WORSE: Snoopy was lying on his dog house one Thanksgiving Day, mumbling about being stuck with dog food while all those humans got to be inside with the turkey and gravy. “Of course, it could have been worse,” he finally reflected, “I could have been born a turkey.” Again, as comical as it sounds, reminding yourself “IT COULD BE WORSE” can be a powerful developer of contentment. “Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.” (Author Unknown).

3. UNDERSTANDING THAT WHAT YOU SEEK IS SPIRITUAL, NOT MATERIAL: Paul says to beware of “…greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5 NIV). You see, our problem isn’t just that we want more, it’s that the condition which underlies all our wanting is that WE REALLY WANT GOD! As Augustine said, “Our souls will never rest, until they rest in Thee.” THE TRUTH IS, GOD WILL NEVER GIVE US ALL WE DESIRE TO MAKE US FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD, WHEN THIS WORLD IS NOT OUR HOME! “These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the TANGIBLE fulfillment of [God’s] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, AND ALL THE WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING AND CONFESSING THAT THEY WERE STRANGERS AND TEMPORARY RESIDENTS AND EXILES UPON THE EARTH” (Hebrews 11:13 AMP). PEOPLE OF GOD, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU GET OF THIS WORLD’S GOLD IT CANNOT COMPARE WITH THE GLORY OF RECEIVING GOD’S GRACE IN ALL THAT HE’S ALREADY GIVEN US! SATISFYING YOUR FLESH, WILL NEVER SATISFY YOUR SPIRIT! “FRIENDS, THIS WORLD IS NOT YOUR HOME, SO DON’T MAKE YOURSELVES COZY IN IT. DON’T INDULGE YOUR EGO AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR SOUL. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.” (1 Peter 2:11 MSG). In short, if there’s anything we should be longing for it should be: “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 NIV).

In closing: Michael Drosnin wrote a book about a man who wanted more wealth, so he built one of the biggest financial empires of his day. He wanted more pleasure, so he paid for the most glamorous women money could buy. He wanted more adventure, so he set air speed records, built and piloted the world’s most unique aircraft. He wanted more power, so he acquired political clout that was the envy of senators. He wanted more glamour, so he owned film studios and courted stars.

Then, Drosnin tells how this man’s life ended: “He was a figure of gothic power, ready for the grave. Emaciated, only 120 pounds stretched over his six-foot-four-inch frame…thin scraggly beard that reached its way onto his sunken chest, hideously long fingernails in grotesque yellow corkscrews…Many of his teeth were black, rotting stumps. A tumor was beginning to emerge from the side of his head…innumerable needle marks…Howard Hughes was an addict. A billionaire junkie.”

So here’s the question: If Hughes had pulled off one more deal, made one more million and tasted one more thrill, WOULD IT HAVE EVER BEEN ENOUGH?!

See, the illusion of gratitude is that we will experience it more, if we get more! NO, that’s the same as making sure a child gets everything which will eventually destroy their initiative and dull their sense of gratitude and contentment!

“The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real estate, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith.” (Bertrand Russell).

Don’t you find it interesting that the man who wrote, “I have learned the secret of being content” also wrote, “IN EVERY THING GIVE THANKS: FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS CONCERNING YOU” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)?

Now, I know today’s church is all about financial prosperity, but I like God’s prosperity a whole lot more. This is it in a nutshell:  “BELOVED, I WISH ABOVE ALL THINGS THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE IN HEALTH, EVEN AS THY SOUL PROSPERETH” (3 John 1:2). Another translation puts it like this: “DEAR FRIEND, I HOPE ALL IS WELL WITH YOU AND THAT YOU ARE AS HEALTHY IN BODY AS YOU ARE STRONG IN SPIRIT”

THEREFORE, REGARDLESS TO WHAT PULPIT PIMPS ERRONEOUSLY PROCLAIM AND FALSELY PROPHESY…CONTENTMENT NOT CASH IS TRUE PROSPERITY! PEOPLE OF GOD, GET OUT OF THE CHURCH RAT RACE TO SEE WHO'S THE NEXT BIG IT! RELAX, REST AND BE REASSURED IN THE FACT THAT GOD LOVES YOU, CARES FOR YOU, PROVIDES FOR AND PROTECTS YOU AND WILL RETURN FOR YOU! ALL ELSE IS IRRELEVANT! DO NO CHASE THIS WORLDS RICHES AND FAME AND LOSE YOUR SOUL! TODAY, HEAD BACK TO CLASS AND LEARN LIKE PAUL, HOW TO BE CONTENT IN ALL THINGS!

“[And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with CONTENTMENT (that CONTENTMENT which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6 AMP);

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be CONTENT with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV);

“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” (Lao Tzu)

"Contentment is found in reaching the place that says, 'Even when I cannot understand, still I can trust God.'" (Alistair Begg)
 

"To be content doesn't mean you don't desire more, it means you're thankful for what you have and patient for what's to come." (Tony Gaskins)
 

"The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach." (Lin Yutang)
 

"Contentment with life is not a feeling, but it is a decision we must make." (Joyce Meyer)
 

"Contentment always eludes those who don't count themselves blessed for what they already have." (Matthew L. Jacobson)
 

"Nothing will kill your contentment faster than comparison." (Steven Furtick)
 

"Contentment makes poor men rich, discontent makes rich men poor." (Benjamin Franklin)
 

"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have." (Socrates)

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)