Philippians 4:12
“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 and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Let me ask you a question. What is the level of your contentment? Are you satisfied with your present situation? Are there situations that you feel would make you more content? If you could change anything in your life, would it make you more contented?
One of the Ten Commandments is to not covet. The word “covet” is the Hebrew word châmad. Strong’s Concordance defines it as: to delight, desire, goodly, lust after. Let me ask you once again: Are there things that you find delightful, desirable, goodly, or things that you lust after and do not possess? If you answer yes, you need to find contentment.
Perhaps it has always been like this since the creation of Adam and Eve, but it certainly is true in our day — there is a general lack of contentment. All too often people think that if they had something else, or someone else, they would be contented. Homes are fractured; lives are destroyed — all because there is no contentment.
Paul says in Philippians, chapter four, that he has learned the secret of being content. He goes on to say that he has learned it by having need and suffering without. How in the world can you find contentment when you’re suffering? I think the answer lies in where we are looking. Are we looking at those things that we think will make us feel better or are we looking to the Lord who is able to use those trying situations to bring glory to His name. Join me and choose to glorify God!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil