“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned the 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 situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do ALL this through Him who give me strength.”
Philippians 4:11-13
I am learning the secret of being content in any and every situation!
Little did I know I have been learning this secret my whole life, and will continue for the rest of my life.
However, in being in a really painful season the Lord is teaching me this on a deep level.
On a level that requires me to completely detach what I can see/feel from what is unseen/true.
And as I learn to find my contentment 100% in Jesus Christ and not in circumstances or people or my emotions, I celebrate for how far the Lord has brought me and the contentment He has already taught me without me knowing it.
I know what it is to be hungry, living off a $5/day budget in Indonesia, and what is it to be well fed with my mom making me meals everyday. I know what it is to have a job that pays more money than I know what to do with, and to have no money and completely dependent on the Lord’s provision through fundraising. I know what it is to have friends and to have no friends and feel completely alone. I know what it is to feel that I am living out my Kingdom purpose and to feel like my life is purposeless. I know what it is to be busy, having every minute of my day planned and to have no job and no plans. I know what it is to be in ministry, getting to tell everyone about Jesus and to have a job where that is not allowed. I know what it is to live out of a backpack and to own a house. I know what it is to be persecuted and celebrated. I know what it is to have clear direction and God ordained circumstances and to feel completely lost and confused.
AND IN ALL OF THIS I CAN HAVE CONTENTMENT THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH!!
I feel that so many of us have a perspective of “well once I get this job, or accomplish this dream, or get married, or buy a house, or have this many friends, or __________, then I will be content.” But if we put our contentment in our circumstances, we will ALWAYS be unsatisfied.
But THE SECRET IS OUT!!
We can have contentment HERE AND NOW in the good seasons, in the hard seasons, in the seasons where we feel like we are thriving and in the seasons we feel completely purposeless, when we put our contentment in JESUS CHRIST ALONE.
I encourage you to spend sometime with the Lord today and ask Him what you are putting your contentment in and ask Him to teach you the secret of contentment that comes from Jesus Christ alone.
I also encourage you to spend sometime reflecting on your life and celebrating all the different circumstances you’ve lived through and that the Lord has already taught you the secret of contentment in!
