We continue to look into the five areas that tie into rest. This week is contentment. By definition it is a state of happiness and satisfaction. If you haven't read my post on satisfaction please take the time and go read it. What do you think of when you think of contentment? For me, one image is a fat cat taking a nap after eating. They are just laying there, purring , nothing in the world bothering them. What about us as humans? What does contentment look like for us? For me contentment is a state of mind. It means no matter what you're facing or what you have, you are in a state of well- being. In Philippians 4:11-13 NASB Paul explains it this way, "Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." For me, Paul's contentment comes from understanding one thing. Philippians 4:19 " And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." The one thing is knowing who is your provider. So many times we try to do everything in our own strength and not lean on God for what He can do. Doing it all on our own strength brings the opposite of contentment; strife.
Let's look more at what the Bible says about contentment. First, In what should we be content? Proverbs 15:16 says "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and turmoil with it." 1 Timothy 6:7,8 reads, " For we have brought nothing into the world, so we can not take anything out of it either. 8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." So God wants us to be poor? That's not what I'm saying. Verse 6 in 1 Timothy 6 says, "But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment." 3 John 1:2 puts it this way, "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers." Our prosperity begins with our walk with Christ and our contentment(fulfillment) coming from Him. It comes from understanding John 6:35, "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.'" Let's take it a little further. We must come to the point where God is everything to us. Acts 17:28 says " for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ' For we also are His offspring'"
Once we understand the fact that our contentment is not reliant on our material possessions but in our relationship and right standing with God the Father, then true contentment can come into our lives and we will know how to be like Paul "content in every circumstance." I believe Hebrews 13:5 puts it best. "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I Will Never Desert You, Nor Will I Ever Forsake You.'" We know from Numbers 23:19 that God cannot lie. Therefore let us rest in the fact as Romans 8:31 says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" Rest easy my friends. God is with you and contentment is nearer than you think.