I have learned the secret

Published 8:00 am Saturday, September 7, 2019

The apostle Paul’s writings have taught me many lessons about faith and walking through life. I have leaned on his wisdom throughout my life. His discourse on contentment must be one of the most important secrets I have ever been privy to. It’s a secret worth sharing!

Philippians 4:12 NLT says, “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” This verse precedes one of the most celebrated verses in the Bible, Philippians 4:13 NKJV, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Who knew the freedom and power to do all things is tied to the secret of contentment?

I Timothy 6:6 NKJV says, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.” One translation says wealth. Contentment in relationship with God, is like having money in the bank! 

By explanation in Wikipedia, “Contentment is a mental or emotional state of satisfaction maybe drawn from being at ease in one’s situation, body and mind. Colloquially speaking, contentment could be a state of having accepted one’s situation and is a milder and more tentative form of happiness.” 

True biblical contentment comes in knowing Christ’s power, purpose and provision is all you need in every circumstance in life. He is enough. The world encourages us to find happiness in having more. Yet we know “more” brings its own problems of upkeep and care, stealing our time and peace. “More” brings worry, anxiety and sleeplessness. “More” is a burden not a blessing!

Contentment is the secret to peace. Let me share a few ways to take this secret and navigate your life into all Christ has for you. 

First, stop comparing yourself to others. You will always find someone who has something a little bigger and better than what you have.

Develop a thankful heart. Contentment and gratitude are inseparable. 

Break the habit of satisfying discontentment with acquiring things.

Lasso your attitude and bring it back in line with the word of God.

Know that there is a difference between what you have and who you are. In the end, you will leave this world without any possessions. It will be who you are that graduates into eternity!

Finally, help others. One sure way to divert attention from what you are going through is to help someone else who is in greater need. Helping others changes your perspective immediately! 

The following story about a discontented farmer mirrors most of us until we learn Paul’s secret. “The farmer complained about the lake on his property that always needed to have the fish thinned out. The rolling hills made it more difficult for him to run the fence rows. Sometimes he couldn’t even see his cows because they had so much territory to cover. At night it was so dark it was hard to walk from the barn back to his house.

He decided to sell the place and move somewhere really nice. He called a real estate agent and made plans to sell his property.

A few days later he picked up the local paper, looking for a new place to live. His eye caught an ad for a lovely country home in an ideal location — quiet and peaceful.

It had soft rolling hills; a pristine lake stocked with bass, a classic barn surrounded by natural flowers and soft grass and came complete with a wonderful herd of Black Angus cows. It was just close enough to a small town to be convenient but far enough out to be uncluttered by city lights, traffic and noise.

He read the ad a second and then a third time before realizing the real estate agent had given her description of the place he currently owned. He called her and told her to cancel the ad. He said, “I’ve changed my mind. I’ve been looking for a place like that all my life.”

Contentment is the secret to a happy, healthy life!