A few years ago I heard a sermon on contentment on the radio. The preacher said, “Contentment is knowing that God is in control and He will help you if you have faith in Him.” Would you consider yourself to be a content Christian? The definition of contentment is listed by one source meaning “to appease the desires of a person” or to “limit one’s self in desires or actions.” What an interesting thought.
We need to have faith because God will supply our needs. Ephesians 3:17-22 reminds us that power, love, and knowledge, are the fruits of contentment. God is able to do more than anything I could ever imagine according to His power. What do these verses teach us? They remind us the power of God is still there, for every generation! God owns the Grand Canyon, the deepest part of the ocean, the highest mountain peaks, and every one of the stars! You and I need to exercise our faith and not be afraid of contentment. I preached a sermon a few years ago with the following thoughts . . . . . If you want contentment you need to: (1) Ask God to help you to find contentment, (2) Accept who you are and who you are not, (3) Embrace the words of the song “I am mine no more,” (4) Always do right when you know to do it, and (5) Remember that there will be greater and lesser people than you.
Many people chase everything they can in search for contentment. But it's not found in gold, money, self-indulgence, sex, relationships, or in the bottom of a bottle. Contentment can only be found in the arms of God! Moses needed to learn this lesson. He struggled with contentment when he gave the excuses to God at the burning bush and said “I cannot speak!” God looks down on him and asks, “Who made your tongue?” He was reminding Moses that He could meet all his needs.
Philippians 4:11-13 tells us a lot about Paul’s view of contentment. Look at some of the key thoughts in those verses. He says, “whatever the circumstances” . . . . “I know” . . . . the “secret of being content” and we can have “everything through Him.” He rested in the arms of God! And, he reveals that: (1) Contentment is learned, (2) Contentment is not determined by things or circumstances, (3) Contentment is powered and modeled by Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, (4) Contentment is based on absolute trust and faith in God.
After Paul learned this contentment he told the young Timothy that we need “godliness with contentment” in I Timothy 6:6-10. Wealth is useless. Paul realized that wealth could not buy contentment. Hebrews 13:5-6 reminds us to keep our minds free from the love of money. People are drawn away from contentment because of money and power. They seek after those things because they lack faith in God’s provision and planning of God.
Proverbs 19:23 tells us that contentment can be untouched by trouble. We are going to have trials when we begin seeking for contentment. People often turn away quickly in the face of trials, but if we know who we are, what we have, why we have it, and what we have to look forward to, why worry during our trying times? God is in control! I have no power, but I know the One who does!
Have a great week!!! And, remember you are too blessed to be stressed!
You are loved.
Dr. Ray Reynolds