The Contentment Cycle

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) 
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I don’t know about you, but Paul’s description of contentment is a little bit intimidating to me. I start to feel a bit unsettled if I miss lunch! Meanwhile, superhero Paul was able to find contentment even while being mistreated (and surely under-fed) in prison. How?

Sometimes we can find ourselves in a cycle of feeling discontent, only to feel ashamed for feeling discontent. I suspect that this is normal – because, as we have all figured out by now, contentment can be more easily said than lived out. But perhaps you have noticed in your walk with Christ that there have been times when you have experienced a sense of contentment even when things around you feel like they are on fire. For me, the difference between being content and not being content usually comes down to where my focus is - Jesus or not Jesus.

Perhaps the overriding theme of the verses that we have looked at in the last five days boils down to one thing: choosing to focus on who God is and what he is doing. When we set our eyes on God and spend time in his Word and in conversation with him, he transforms our lives, our thoughts and our actions, one day at a time. Contentment and peace standing in the face of anxiety can only happen when a) we deliberately choose to seek Jesus as a pattern of life and b) we rely on him to daily refuel us. It is a two-way relationship, day by day, step by step.

Prayer - Dear God, please teach me to find my contentment in you. Thank you for offering peace that passes all understanding. Please help me to know you in this way.