Satisfied
Today's Verse:
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. ~Philippians 4:11
On March 7, 2024, Maria Branyas Morera became the world’s oldest living person when she celebrated her 117th birthday. She was the oldest person born in California and the oldest validated person to ever live in Spain. Most prominent about Maria was that she had lived a contented life. This morning, we are studying the virtue of contentment. Are you a content person?
There is the attitude of contentment.
Contentment is being satisfied with who you are, what you possess, where you are, what you need, and what has happened. A content person does not live for the chase. A content person has absent from his vocabulary phrases such as, “I wish I had this.” A content person lives without worries or a constant craving to keep up with the most modern things. A content person maximizes the enjoyment that he has in his relationships, his employment, his achievements, and his goals. Content people are dead to worldliness and the need to be status quo with society. A content person is someone like Paul who has his wants under control.
There is the ability in contentment.
Paul said, “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Contentment is the ability to rest quietly in the Lord’s strength when it comes to desire. A content person has the ability in all situations to be happy. He can go through suffering and trial and still be content and happy. He is someone who handles disappointment and setbacks with a spirit of humility. His happiness is settled in his relationship with the Lord. He has learned that as long as I have Jesus, I have all that I need. Paul summarized the ability in contentment by saying, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
There is the abounding in contentment.
Content people are not complainers. They have a spirit of joy and restfulness. They are people who have incredible inner peace. They rest well at night. They don’t live in a world of anxiety and fear. They have found victory over the cravings of the flesh, and are patient and longsuffering. They do not live in competition with other people. They are in happy submission to the leadership of others. They brighten the day of other people. They resolve to have a smile on their face in all things. Paul said that he abounded in all things.
Discontentment makes us bitter, not easy to get along with, and murmurers. Discontentment is a thief that steals our joy. Discontentment leads us to be in a constant mode of change and switching. Are you someone who is content? Are you someone who is satisfied?
Take time this morning to examine your spirit of contentment. Consider Paul’s spirit. In all things, he learned to be content. The thing that you think you need might be the thing that you need to rid yourself of.
Have a contented God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Job 5-7