Words Of Encouragement

[Iwanthealthyhair67]

BE CONTENT


Philippians 4:11 - I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.

Contentment is hard to attain. Even the apostle Paul, a hero of the faith, had to learn to be content (Phil. 4:11). It was not a natural character trait for him.

For Paul to write that he was content in every situation is truly amazing. At the time of this writing, he was in jail in Rome. Charged with sedition, treason, and other serious crimes, he had appealed to the highest court: Caesar himself. Without other legal recourse and friends in high places, he had to wait for his case to be heard. It seems as if Paul had the right to be an impatient and unhappy person. Instead, he wrote to the Philippians to say that he had to learned to be content.

How did he learn this? One step at a time until he could be satisfied even in uncomfortable environments. He learned to accept whatever came his way (v. 12) and to receive with thanks whatever help fellow Christians could give (v.14-18). And most of important, he recognized that God was supplying all his need (v. 19).

Contentment is not natural for any of us. The competitive spirit in us drives us to compare, to complain, and to covet. Few of us are in a predicament such as Paul's, but we all face difficulties in which we can learn to trust God and be content.

Contentment is not possessing everything but giving thanks for everything you possess.

 

[Shimmie]

Healthy Hair - Thank you so much for sharing this message

 

[Laela]

^^ and... focusing on what we don't have surely will keep us in a state of discontent. This, I know....

 

[Laela]

@Iwanthealthyhair67 This lady's series this week aligns with your message and I thought it would be most appropriate to share it here:
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Five Things We Need to Re-Learn
Installment #2 - June 28, 2016
Mary Welchel

You know, there are times when we simply have to let go and turn situations over to God. Letting go does not mean that we don’t care, nor that we wouldn’t do whatever we could do to help the situation. It simply means that we recognize where our abilities end and where we relinquish situations to God’s control.


For instance, most parents face this “let go” decision with their children. You raise your children the best you can, you try to teach them biblical principles, you do everything you know how to do to help them. But at some point, you let them go. Perhaps you let them go make their own mistakes, but you know there’s no other way for them to learn. You let them go make their own decisions, even if you could make better ones for them. We parents have to learn to let our children go.


I answered a letter from a listener who is struggling with letting go of his dream to be married. He really wants a partner and is obsessed with that dream and just can’t let go of it. You know, often we have to let our dreams go—those cherished things we’ve been hoping for and longing for and dreaming of. They may be very good things, like getting married. But God often wants to know if we love him more than we love our dream. And so we have to let go. Sometimes those dreams are returned to us fulfilled later on; sometimes they are not. But until we let go, they will possess us and rob us of joy and contentment.


We have to learn to let our burdens go. Jesus has told us to turn our heavy burdens over to him and accept his light one in exchange. I think many of us feel guilty when there’s a problem in our life if we aren’t feeling the burden all the time. But that’s not the way God wants us to respond. He wants us to drop our burdens at his feet and just keep letting them go. I can tell you that many times I verbally tell God, “Lord, I’m dropping this right here. I’m letting it go, because it’s too heavy for me.”


What is it that God wants you to let go of today? Let me encourage you to do it. You can trust God. He’s able to take care of the situation, but first you have to give it over to him. Unclench those fists right now, and just keep learning to let go. You’ll have to learn and re-learn, but it’s an important principle to learn for your daily living.