Related:
Do You Want To Experience Love?

Related:
What Does Your  Soul Crave?

In a society that shouts, “You deserve . . . you need . . . ,” contentment seems totally out of place. What would be required to move you from where you are today to a place of contentment? We invite your thoughts as we explore contentment in today’s world

Philippians 4:10-23.

When you hear the word “content,” what picture comes to mind? When was the last time you saw someone who truly seemed content? It seems our world often battles the idea of contentment, yet the truth remains: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” The theme is woven through many of the letters of the New Testament, and Paul has thoughts that he shares with the believers at Philippi. From his own experience, he writes “I have learned…to be content.” This study will help you discover what it means to be content.

Do you feel like nobody listens? We do. Talk to us.

God loves us. We are to love one another. Real love requires sacrifice and obedience to God’s commands. And lastly, the Apostle John teaches that love is the key to a life full of purpose and joy and contentment. Love really is the answer.

John tells us: “Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble” (1 John 2:10).

Doesn’t that sound attractive? We all stumble in many ways, but John shows us that love overcomes the things that make us stumble – things like selfishness and pride, bitterness and envy, insecurity and anger. We cannot be impatient and love our brother. We cannot be resentful and love our sister. Loving others lifts us above the things that would trap us in sin.

And that is not all. John continues:

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16).

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love each other, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:12).

Through love, God makes His dwelling place in us. Love is the way to true fellowship with God. Love completes us.

It begins with God loving us. Through His power we can love those around us with a sacrificial and unconditional love. Then when we love in this manner we are complete in God. We have fellowship with Him and nothing can make us stumble.

Holy God, thank you for loving me. Thank you for showing me that by loving others, I receive the incredible benefits of freedom from stumbling blocks and fellowship with You.  Amen.

Questions: How have you found love to be the key to life on earth? How have you experienced benefits when loving others?

About the Author Suzanne Benner

Are your days filled with loneliness?  Do you dread getting up and facing another day? Talk to us.

“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (Genesis 5:24).

I have been thinking about Enoch’s walk with God. What an incredible way to be remembered. I would like to be remembered that way.

Years ago, I read the book, Practicing the Presence of God, and since then, I have often prayed that God would enable me to walk with Him like Enoch did.

I used to think that when God answered my prayer, I would be in a perpetual state of euphoria and contentment. I thought problems of any kind would not bother me because I would automatically trust God as soon as the challenge came. No matter what came my way, I wouldn’t flinch. I would be content even when the workload seemed overwhelming. No matter what happened I would be able to say, as the Apostle Paul did, “I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in.

I have walked with God for many years and I have had a lot of joy and fun (who wouldn’t, when married to a fun guy like Marvin). I’ve also had many challenges, many hard decisions to make, many times of deep hurt and pain. As I struggled, I was not always in a state of contentment. Sometimes I wondered why God didn’t answer my prayer and zap me with the grace to be in a continual state of contentment.

You know what? God was answering my prayer. Through the hardships in life, we are forced to trust God. The Apostle Paul said, “His strength is made perfect in my weakness. God helps me to realize that I am weak and that I desperately need Him moment by moment. Strength, wisdom, insight, love, patience and knowledge all come from Him. I go to God many times a day because I just don’t have what I need.

Life isn’t soft and easy! If it was, we wouldn’t need God, would we? Through the circumstances He brings into our lives, we are forced to trust Him.

Years ago, our five-month-old grandson died suddenly. I hurt so badly, I thought I couldn’t bear it. A few days after his funeral I was sitting in the living room, reading the Bible. God directed me to 2 Corinthians 1:9. The Apostle Paul was writing about his problems and goes on to say, “…but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God…and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope and He will continue to deliver us.

No matter what happens, God wants us to rely on Him. He will deliver us.

How about you? Do you have great challenges and heartaches today? God is in this. Rely on Him and He will continue to deliver you. He will give you the abundant life (John 10:10). Walk with God.

God, thank You that Your strength is made perfect in our weakness. Thank You for bringing problems into our lives so we are forced to rely on You. What sweet companionship we develop through it all. Amen.

Questions: How would you define “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24)? How have hardships caused you to trust God as you never had before?

About the author Katherine Kehler

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11 (NIV)

Here are four steps to develop contentment in your life.

1. Stop comparing yourself to others. When you compare your life with someone else’s, the only place it can lead is toward discontentment. There will always be people who appear to be better off than you, but you don’t know their real circumstances.

I recall counseling a husband many years ago, and he said he wished his wife could be more like so-and-so, and he named a woman in our congregation. What he didn’t know is that the woman was a functioning alcoholic causing incredible heartache and stress for her family and for her husband.

That’s why the Bible teaches it is unwise to compare (2 Corinthians 10:12).

2. Be grateful for who you are and what you have. Learning to be content requires that you stop any “when and then” thinking – “When I am ___________, then I’ll be happy.” (You fill in the blank.)

The reason we fall into this trap is that we may actually be content for a little while but it won’t last. But, more than likely, someone else or something else will come along and drain the contentment from your life.

But listen, you are unique. God created you to be like nobody else, so why would you want to be anyone else. God is perfect, and you were his perfect choice to be you. Understanding that is a huge step toward being content with your life.

And then look at all the things God has given you. So often we allow what we don’t have to so dominate our focus that we forget the many wonderful things we already have, not only material blessing, but far more important things, such as family and friends.

3. Give yourself to others. If you will begin giving yourself to others, sharing what things you do have, sharing your time and your talents, you will find yourself learning to be content. Helping others will give you an appreciation for what you have and who you are, but more importantly, you will find yourself growing content. Why? Because God designed us to serve and share with others, and until we do that, we will feel great discontent.

4. Focus on things with eternal value. The real secret to becoming content is to focus on the things that have eternal value. It may be a familiar teaching to you, but Jesus said we should store up our treasures in heaven, and not on earth “where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV).

Think about the things in your life: What will last forever? What will last at least for your lifetime? What will last a few short years, or months, or days? Based on eternal value, what things are most important in your life? Where – and with whom – should you put your most time and energy?

By re-organizing your life around eternal priorities, you’ll find yourself growing in contentment as you live according to God’s design and purpose.

Question: Which of these four suggestions towards contentment do you find the most challenging? Why?

About the Author:  Rick Warren

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him” (1 John 4:16-17)

When you come before the Lord in prayer, part of you empties out. It’s the part that is filled with the heartaches, hurts, soreness, grief, and agonies you’ve experienced throughout your life. As you pour the pain in your heart out to God, He refills your inner being or spirit with Himself.

God is love (1 John 4:16) and great healing is within Him (Psalm 103:1-5).

It’s a trade. You give God your pain and He heals you and refills your heart with His purpose. You lay down your fear, and God fills your heart with faith. You give God your sin, He gives you His sanctification. Each time, an exchange takes place.

You could compare this exchange to the scientific transfer of photosynthesis. A leaf, for example, is light dependent. Photosynthesis begins when light hits a leaf. The leaf reacts to the light, capturing and absorbing the energy of the sun to produce more life-giving molecules, and the release of oxygen. This by-product is the fuel used by all living things. It’s the conversion of usable sunlight energy into usable chemical energy.

In like manner, men, women, and children are dependent on the conversion of their hearts by the light of Christ Jesus, God’s son, to make them whole. We are grace dependent. Just as each cell in a leaf absorbs sunlight, every fiber in your being is touched and restored by the nearness of a holy God. The by-product of that right relationship is life-giving oxygen.

“For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28)

Won’t you trade your pain today and allow your heart to be touched by the light of Jesus love?  Empty yourself of the old and receive the new.  It will bring great refreshing to your life today!

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:1-5)

Question: Which pains, emotional or otherwise, can you offer up to God today in exchange for the joy of knowing Him?

About this Author: Jacqueline Overpeck

The Shocking Cost of Success
Bud arrived home excited about the Christmas vacation he had planned with his family. Bud looked forward to the holidays as a time to reconnect with his wife and children. They spent Christmas morning unwrapping a mound of presents. When it was over, Bud’s wife asked him to join her outside on the patio. She needed to talk to him about something. Bud says his wife’s words hit like a bolt of lightning out of the clear, blue Florida sky. “I’m leaving you,” she said. Read more

Take action: Having to give up some of the things we cherish can be difficult. Gain valuable perspective by trying our interactive online study Struggling with Contentment.

This week’s success quote:
“I cannot give you a formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure – which is: try to please everybody.” (Herbert Bayard Swope)

Feature: Joe Gibbs, NFL Coach
All his life, Joe wanted to become head coach of an NFL team. He eventually became head coach of the Washington Redskins, but it wasn’t until his priorities changed that he achieved his goal. Read more

Video: Choosing to Simplify
In this In Other Words video, Senior Editor Claire talks about different perspectives on cutting back in a tough economy. Read more

Coming up next week: One of the topics of our upcoming online chats is “Empowering Relationships” Join us in the chat room November 22nd 2009 @ 9:00pm EST for this chat, and check our full chat calendar for other upcoming topics.

Gary’s Story: Surviving a Bomb
On Saturday November 8th, 2008 my world blew apart – literally. I was carrying a package I thought was gift when it exploded in my hands. We had recently sold our cozy townhouse and were excited to move into a larger home with yard for our daughters. As I went to retrieve the BBQ cover from the back yard I discovered an unexpected package sitting directly in front of my the back door. Read my story, recently featured on CTV news, and how I was able to respond afterward. Read more

Take action: Having to give up some of the things we cherish can be difficult. Gain valuable perspective by trying our interactive online study Struggling with Contentment.

You said it: This week, Rick commented on the article Gorging on Chocolate Love, saying “i liked your analogy of chocolate versus real food in explaining “eros” love versus “agape” love.” Read the article and add your own thoughts: Read more

Blog: Are You Still Interested In Each Other?
So now that you’re married, are you still interested or are you … bored? Read more

Feature: Choosing to Simplify
In this In Other Words video, Senior Editor Claire talks about different perspectives on cutting back in a tough economy. Read more

Coming up next week: One of the topics of our upcoming online chats is “Empowering Relationships” Join us in the chat room November 22nd 2009 @ 9:00pm EST for this chat, and check our full chat calendar for other upcoming topics.