Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
One day I voiced to my friend “I don’t know what happened or where time went, but I feel like I’m behind in life.” There was so much that I had planned on doing by the close of my late twenties that had yet to be accomplished. My friend and I talked through things and she was confident in the fact that I could complete everything that I had placed on my timeline. A few weeks later I had the joy of having a conversation with someone I consider to be a big brother and my pastor. He began to list the things that I HAD accomplished and the things God had protected me from. I left his office and got to the car I began to cry. I wasn’t sad for myself, but upset with myself. That was the first time that I had REALLY looked at my circumstances. You see in the grand scheme of things God has given me amazing opportunities and guarded me from making some of the WORST mistakes of my life. Even in the mistakes that I made He was right there waiting for me to decide I was coming back to Him.
You see I understand this scripture all too well. Many times we say that we are in need, when the reality is that there are things that we WANT and have not been granted access to. Only God can look at the complete story of our life and tell us if that thing we really want is what we need. Recently I received a reminder about the scripture above. Many times we focus on the ending of the scripture as we yell and scream praises to God for giving us what we WANT. In reality, you need the beginning of that scripture because you won’t always get what you want. There are times that we ask for things that could kill us. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way, but thankfully God was merciful. I’m learning as I grow older the goal is not things. It is to be content. Now we live in a society that teaches it is not enough to be content, but I believe that we are acting from the wrong definition on content.
· Content -- satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are
Our goal should be to have a sense of satisfaction the way things are, however we slip into a state of complacence.
· Complacent -- contented to a fault with oneself or one’s actions
Contentment in itself is not the problem. You can be content in your current situation and working towards the next thing God has given you. The issues appear when you become complacent and believe that you in a place because of something you have done. It is in those moments that you are so comfortable with where you are and what you are doing that you no longer want to move forward. You stop in your tracks! This comfort can come in having little or much! It has been said that there are people that live amongst us that have a “poverty mindset”. They have never been shown another way to live and therefore feel that it is the only way. But can you imagine the fear that a person feels in moving from poverty to wealth. The change could bring the person into avenues and situations they have never seen or imagined. There are people amongst us that are self-made millionaires and billionaires that grew up with nothing. Imagine not having anything. Could you be content in that? And then imagine over time you’ve earned your first hundred thousand dollars, and then half a million, and then a million, and then a billion. Now for those millionaires and billionaires it could have been easy to remain at the first hundred thousand because it was the most they ever had. How much courage and strength did it take to keep moving forward into new territory to get to that half a million, million, and billion?
You see God trusts those that can be content, and not complacent, in little. That shows Him that He can trust you with much. The goal is to move through each realm that God takes you to without taking your focus away from His voice. He will give you things when He knows He can trust you to keep moving with His plan. In the ten years that I have been on my own I have never NEEDED anything! My needs have always been met, and so have many of my wants. Was I content in every situation? NO! Have I learned over the years to be content? ABSOLUTELY! My contentment is a sign to God that I completely trust Him and believe what His word says. He takes care of us whether we are living in His will or not because He is full of grace and mercy that flows freely to those that will accept it.
In the end I want you to sit back and think about your current situation. Are you content or complacent? In the past, have you rested in contentment or complacency? If you find that you have been or are currently in a place of complacency, then shift your eyes to the C-clause of the scripture. You can’t get to contentment on your own. In our own flesh we will fall short EVER time, but God is gracious enough to share his strength. And as we all know, we can do any and everything through His strength! So I charge you today to stop acting in your own strength (will) and use the strength He is offering you. Step out of complacency and onto the pathway to contentment. Oh and when you get to the path know that God will be there to walk with you. Even if you can’t feel Him, He’s always there.
Blessings,
Divine
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