True Contentment

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. – Philippians 1:21

Paul knew what it meant to have true contentment. Me? Not so much.

My heart seems to stay on an anxious roller coaster. Instead of trusting every moment to my Creator, I tend to push for full control. I worry about something happening to my kids or my husband. I worry about what people think of me. I worry about what’s going to happen next in my life when I think I know what that should be. Amazing how many times the word “I” showed up in this paragraph.

My heart doesn’t really grasp the word… trust.

This morning, Philippians 1:21 hit me in a way that it never has before. The fact that Paul could say, “for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” gives evidence that he was able to find contentment no matter what his circumstances were. He fully trusted Christ. Nothing deterred this trust. Not imprisonment, not beatings, not complete exhaustion, not hunger, not guilt from his previous way of living, not undeserved blame, not a shipwreck, not betrayal, not loneliness, not criticism, not any other sufferings. NOTHING shook his faith.

In fact, he seemed to possess more joy as he took on more pain. What can we learn?

So many things we can pull from this passage, but for me today, it’s the fact that I am so blessed. No matter what happens in my life on this earth, I am loved by my Creator God, and that should be enough. Romans 8:28 says “and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” This verse doesn’t mean that all things work together for OUR good. I think we get that mixed up sometimes. It means that He is working all things together for HIS good. We are a part of His plan, and we should be thankful for whatever He throws our way… simply because we have been chosen.

True contentment = recognizing that we are a part of God’s plan, trusting Him, following His lead in all things, and ridding our hearts of worry and impatience.

In this contentment, we will experience the joy that only God can provide. The joy that Paul knew.