Being Content.

Being Content.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

We can all probably agree that this is one of the most frequently quoted verses from the Bible. We’ve all probably seen this verse once or twice, maybe on a bumper sticker or even framed and hung up in your own house. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful verse. It gives us hope in times of desperation and allows us to accept how weak we are apart from the Father.

But let’s back up a few versus and read what Paul is talking about in this chapter of Philippians. At the time of writing the letter, Paul had just been beaten nearly to death, betrayed, and left for dead. He was living in a Roman prison and he goes on and writes this:

“I have learned to be CONTENT no matter what happens to me. I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being CONTENT no matter what happens. I am CONTENT whether I am well fed or hungry. I am CONTENT whether I have more than enough or not enough.” Philippians 4:11-12

13507184_10206739275029108_8446392337103838297_n The thing that obviously stands out to me in those verses is this idea of being content. To have an underlying peace no matter what’s going on around me. And contentment is something that we’re all looking for isn’t it? Yet few of us ever truly find it. I personally have spent a massive amount of my life with my heart discontented for some reason or another. This discontent came from physical attributes about myself that I wanted to change, the lack of having a spouse while watching so many others around me get married, and the lack of depth in certain friendship or relationships. The list goes on and on. My point is that this has been a huge struggle for me and I honestly don’t think I’m alone in that struggle. I think there’s a lot of people out there struggling with being content.

But there’s hope for us because we are actually learning from Paul, who claims to have found this this thing that we are all looking for. He says “I’ve found it. I’ve learned it. In any and every circumstance, I know what it means to be content.” So as people who are most likely struggling with contentment, we should probably take some notes.

If we read even a few more versus back in Philippians we actually get some insight as to how to find this contentment and peace Paul is talking about: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4: 8-9

When people ask me about my time in Honduras, I often get overwhelmed with how to respond. My time was physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining. I saw some really difficult things and I struggled a lot of times to keep my thoughts on “pure and lovely things.” But I also met some of the most incredible people I’ve ever known; whether it was staff members, other interns, translators, or people we were serving, I saw some pretty excellent and praiseworthy things through them. Two individual, Nina and Danillo, were two incredible examples of people who constantly challenged me (without ever knowing it) to think about these lovely things Paul is talking about.

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They laughed and loved and exuded joy as though they knew some incredible secret that no one else knew. At first, my heart broke for them because they have been completely abandoned by society. They are these little hidden treasures that society has buried and all but forgotten about. But the more I got to interact with them, the more I saw that deep down inside, they knew that they were truly LOVED by their creator.

And that’s where this true peace and contentment really comes from isn’t it? They aren’t found in things of this world, not in what others think of us, what job we have, or how we look, but it’s found in knowing that we are truly loved and truly saved by a perfect God. And what thought isn’t more right, pure, or lovely than that? I’ll be honest and say that it’s still a challenge to let that truth sink in. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to let 100% of my contentment and joy come from knowing that my creator loves me and sent His son to save my life. What I do know is that Nina and Danillo showed me what it looks like when we let God’s love provide us with peace and contentment. And I want to live my life more like they do: spreading that love, peace, and joy to those around me.

So I challenge you to celebrate in that truth with me today. Let’s listen to Paul and think about things that are pure and lovely and noble. Let’s use the “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” verse to give us hope when we are struggling, but also as a sort of guide to point us back to the One who sacrificed everything for us. And most of all, let’s meditate daily on how much our Father truly loves us, because that’s where we will find true contentment.

God Bless, Griff

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