Can You Say with Paul, "I am well content?"

Precious Ones, immeasurably loved by God,

The Bible has much to say about contentment. May you have ears to hear.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. Phil 4:11-13

Then I read this a few days ago:

“Self-revelation precedes divine revelation- that is a principle for both spiritual birth and spiritual growth. The Christian who is going through struggle and failure is the Christian who is being carefully and lovingly handled by his Lord in a very personal way.” MJS

God uses self-revelation to reveal our discontent, exposing our unbelief, our unrest and our striving to live the Christian life by self- effort. Also revealed is a daily busyness in our life that keeps us from His  life-giving Word. When we take vacations with the purpose of refreshing and rest, we often return from vacation in need of a vacation. So to we blame much of our discontent on our circumstances. Each of us would change many things if we were presented the opportunity, beginning with our income. We tear down houses and build bigger ones with bigger storage areas; to fill with more stuff to store and we eventually forget we have it.

Hebrews 13:5

Make sure that your character is 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,”

 Then there is our discontent with our weight, our height, our build, our spouse, the climate we live in, the car we drive… and a myriad of other things in our life we are bent on changing, even good things in our life, let alone how quickly we would rid ourselves of trials if it were in our power to do so. We have created a god that is not God, but one who is required to remove our troubles and bless us with riches and abundance. We expect Him to answer the opinions we pray and take offence when He does not kowtow to our demands, joining our pursuits.

We know that Joy is not found in circumstances and is fruit of the Spirit, not fruit of self-effort. So, too, contentment, though not listed as a fruit of the Spirit is something we are to learn, it takes time. We must join God in His pursuits.

II Corint 12:7-10 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God told Paul, “No”.

Paul in surrender finds he is more than content, he is well content!

I was quickened to consider just what Paul’s circumstances were when he said he was ‘well content’? I realized he was given a gift. A gift/thorn God allowed to bring Paul to weakness. A gift he begged to return to the giver. OUCH! Can we know contentment in distresses and persecutions and insults and difficulty?

God considered Paul’s circumstances rich soil for teaching Paul contentment. I believe our circumstances are rich soil for God to do the same in us. See what Paul says? Amazing words: Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Paul says he will choose his troubles. We will only know contentment to the degree we trust Him and we will only trust Him to the degree we know Him. There are no short cuts. We mature by growth and growth cannot be hurried.

We must be willing to embrace our trials like Paul to be “well content”. We are more likely to be resisting, wrestling, refusing, rebuking the enemy, while lost in tears of unbelief. We may see it as a lack of faith when our binding the enemy results in “no” as our answer. Albeit, the real lack of faith is our refusal to learn contentment in any and every circumstance. We are focused on changing our circumstances instead of learning to dance with the pain God is using in our life.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. Phil 4:11-13

This doesn’t leave us room to keep living day after day in a restless discontent.

In this scripture Paul speaks of learning to be content in any and every situation and shares the secret he learned. A secret with power to redeem our trials to serve His purposes. The word does not say that God will remove all the difficulties from our life and then contentment will be ours. Paul states he has learned to be content because Christ gives him strength and in II Corinthians 12, two little words that are part of the secret, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Doesn’t this move you to tears? O the wonder of it all!

We will know contentment even in our tears, as we trust Christ to give us strength and God to give us grace. He knows all about our weakness and it doesn’t stop Him from using every situation for His glory and our good.

“Truly to rest in God is to yield oneself up to the highest activity. We work because He works in us both to will and to do. Entering into the rest of God is the ceasing from self-effort and the yielding of oneself in full surrender of faith to God’s working.” A.M.

Oh the beauty and power of His Spirit indwelling us until we can rejoice in our weakness! Wow my feet are dancing, Christ filling us with strength and delivering us and keeping us until the tears we weep are sweet worship to our King! Hallelujah and blessed be His name.

Great God, holy perfection, You are all we could ever desire, thank You for teaching contentment amidst tears. How gentle and kind You are… allowing me to know You more and more. You give me grace and strength I will never deserve. Thank You that ‘all is grace’.  The world so quickly loses its attraction when we know You intimately and as You  gift us with Yourself. Thank You for the suffering You give. A gift that brings with it a freedom to prove You faithful as I learn to be content. Only in You can we know what it is to be ‘well content’. LORD give my sisters and brothers a desire to know You intimately and learn to be ‘well content’. I boast in You, O Lamb of God, in Your name I pray amen.

Learning contentment,

az

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