Devotions based on week 11 of Joy in the Journey: Contentment (WATCH HERE)
Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 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. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
In central Texas, schools have started for the 2025-26 school year. The year can be met with disappointment that the freedom of summer is over or a sense of optimism for what the new year of learning brings.
Education is designed to be a process of learning. Kindergarteners don’t start with calculus math. Fifth graders aren’t expected to know the periodic table and chemical equations. However a kindergartener who is just learning to count to ten can, if they are open to learning, do complicated math equations by senior year in high school. They learn math. They learn chemistry. Content is taught. Homework is assigned. Assignments are completed. Experiential lab work is offered.
All of these things go into learning a subject.
Contentment is no different.
While one baby may be more “content” than another, it doesn’t take long when a small child desires something they don’t have. By mid-two’s an all out tantrum can ensue when they don’t get what they want. So much for contentment!
The reason that contentment has to be learned is because it doesn’t come naturally for our sinful nature.
Satan loves to get us to focus on the things we don’t have. Perhaps just take an inventory.
When you scroll through your social media, do you find yourself thinking, “I wish I had that,” or “I wish I could go there.” By scrolling through posts you see the “highlight” reel of someone else’s life and wish that your life could be the same or better. Discontent sinks in.
When you watch TV, YouTube, Netflix or your favorite channel, advertisements come up that try to convince you your life would be better if you bought their product. Some you have no interest in. But others get you thinking, “Yeah, I could really use that.” Marketing and advertisements can create discontent when we are convinced our life would be better than it is if we buy or do the right things.
When you wake up in the morning and moan that you have to go to work, head off to school or simply engage the day’s work at home, it could be a symptom of internal discontent. When we have a hard time seeing the positive and tend to focus on the negative, we may be struggling with discontent.
So we have to learn to be content. What do I do with all I see, experience, desire so that I move from discontent to contentment?
Learn the secret like Paul did. Really it’s a secret that lives in plain sight when we view life through God’s lens instead of our lens. God loves to give our hearts contentment as a gift of his Spirit. So the rest of this week we will explore the secret God wants us to learn to find contentment.
Apply: Today, notice what gives you contentment or what causes discontent. Make a chart of each on a piece of paper. What do you notice?
Prayer: Lord, open my heart to learn contentment from you! AMEN.