Are You Content?

By Andrea Merrell

I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances.

Philippians 4:11 MSG

 

There she was again, complaining about all the things she didn’t have. The woman was beautiful, smart, and talented. She had a good job. Friends. A big family. A hefty bank account. But she was never happy, always focused on whatever seemed out of reach. Always wanting what she couldn’t have.

She was much like Eve. God filled the Garden with every luscious fruit imaginable, yet Eve wanted the only one she was told to stay away from rather than being thankful for the abundant supply all around her. Her negative focus led her straight into temptation, and we all know the rest of the story.

On the other hand, Paul—shipwrecked, beaten, rejected, and imprisoned—learned to be content despite his negative circumstances. He wrote:

I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. (Philippians 4:11-13 MSG)

Paul’s secret? He worried about nothing and praised God for everything. He was thankful for every blessing and never concerned himself about the rest. His focus remained on the One who created and sustained him no matter what was going on in his life. That’s the way to live in peace.

Have you learned to be content?

Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash