Philippians 4:11 Contentment
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

Philippians 4:11 New International Version 

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

To achieve this level of contentment is to put on wings of freedom.  We are in bondage to our own dissatisfaction with how our life is going.  Our circumstances much too often determine our moods and attitudes.   

It is said that Paul wrote Philippians while he was imprisoned.    In this place of captivity he exposed the truth about being imprisoned.  We can be in a prison, locked up and behind bars, but it does not have to be inside of us.  Paul experienced many setbacks and yet in his pursuit of Jesus, he discovered a grace that liberated him from all internal frustrations and hindrances.   He knew that His freedom is in Christ, not in the world and he knew that regardless of how good or bad he felt,  as long as his complete focus was on Christ,  he had the strength and fortitude to make it to the end of his watch on earth. 

We oppress and defeat our own selves when we grumble and complain.  These are weighty attributes and pin us down under a cloud of hopelessness. 

Paul had one focus………………..Jesus.  

What is your focus?  Is it usually anything other than Jesus?   

But when our focus is on Jesus, He becomes our path to all that we need and even what we want. 

If our flesh is dictating to us whether or not we are going to enjoy our life, then we are not surrendered to God and our contentment is dependent on a very unbalanced world and an evil enemy.   Our peace, our joy and our strength must come from our Lord.   We are clothed in Him when we soak in His presence.   If not, then the enemy can move us about like lifeless pawn pieces. Ultimately this will bring us into fear, confusion and hopelessness. 

God is our hope.  He is our source.  He is whatever we need in that moment.  It is up to us how close we are to God since we are the ones who move.   God remains in one place: the place of faithfulness, the place of grace and the place of love.   He wants us to dwell in His presence of life and goodness.

We are the ones who keep moving away not God.  Even when we do not feel His presence God remains in that one place walking us through the steps toward contentment.

Challenge:  Stop looking around you for contentment.  God is the answer and He lives inside you. 

Time alone with God will allow Him to nourish and strengthen you.   His touch will heal, encourage and love you in the depths of your being.  

God bless,

Marni

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.