One of my prayers over the last few years has been that God would help me to stop believing lies….
I’ve been A M A Z E D by how comfy some straight up lies have gotten inside my head. So comfy that I didn’t even recognize them as lies. Asking God to clear things up has been a game changer.
A lot of different ideas have been exposed recently but maybe the most obvious was the idea of contentment.
I’ll start out telling you the lie I believed about it and then the truth that God revealed about it…
The L I E: “Contentment is something you have because you have something you want”
The T R U T H: “Contentment is a fight to see what you HAVE as ENOUGH”.
Let’s take that a step further. The order of events here is important. You fight for contentment regardless of what you have and therefore you become content regardless of what you have. Most of us get that pretty wrong. We think once we get “fill in the blank”, THEN we will be content. But if contentment isn’t gained before you ever get “fill in the blank”, then it never will be gained. Once you get what you want, you’ll always be looking for what’s next. When what’s next arrives, you’ll follow the same mode.
It’s a vicious cycle. But when you DO get the order right and determine in your heart to be content regardless of your circumstances, then you aren’t dependent on outside forces to rest with a happy heart.
So besides just willing yourself to try harder, what’s the move? How do you find true contentment? Especially when things SUCK.
Let’s ask Paul. Here’s a guy in the Bible who wrote a letter to a church as he was literally sitting in the belly of a jail. He was living in the worst possible case scenario when he wrote these words:
“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.” Philippians 4:11-13
We love using that verse when we are trying to finish a half marathon or monograming a gym bag, but MAN. When you consider that context it’s mind blowing.
Here he is with nothing and he says he’s content because He’s learned to be that way because of God’s strength in him.
So, yes, are there things we can do to altar our perspective? Absolutely! Speaking life over your family, your home, and your trials and joys. But the real power comes when we learn to depend on God’s strength to meet us where we are and help us to be content in our plenty and in our want.
Contentment is for right now, not just for someday when… start fighting for it, friends. Remember that God is our strength and with Him, all things are possible… even a content heart.
Love y’all!