THE PRACTICE AND ART OF CONTENTMENT

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:11b–13 NIV)

Contentment isn’t passive satisfaction. It is the grateful, faithful, and fruitful use of whatever God has placed in our hands -- little or much. It is lifting the cup Providence gives us and calling on the name of the Lord. The contents of the cup are God’s provision; drawing deeply from it is the practice and art of contentment.

To refuse the cup because it is only half full, because its flavor is unfamiliar, or because someone else’s cup seems finer is to miss the goodness within -- and that loss is the quiet penalty of discontent. No one lives discontented who fully employs and fully enjoys what God has already given.

It may sound lofty to say we can have what we desire if we learn to desire what we have -- but this much is true: contentment is receiving the most and best from life by making the most and best of what God has entrusted to us in Christ. 

-- Updated and adapted from Maltbie D. Babcock (1858-1901) 

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ONE DAY AT ABOUT THREE IN THE AFTERNOON

“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, ‘Cornelius!’ Cornelius stared at him in fear. ‘What is it, Lord?’ he asked.” (Acts 10:1-4 NIV)

Here's the context.  There was a Roman captain named Cornelius who gave generously to the poor and "prayed to God regularly."  That prayer habit kept him dialed into God's frequency and set the stage for this vision.  At this point, Christianity was a sect of Judaism, but this vision changes the course of Christianity because the gospel is opened up to the Gentiles.  Christianity crosses the Rubicon, and whosoever will may come!

The timing of the vision almost seems coincidental, doesn't it?  "One day at about three in the afternoon."  But that's what I love about it.  When you pray regularly, you never know when God will show up or speak up.  Today could be the day.  When you live in prayer mode, you live with holy anticipation.  You know what coincidences are providences.  Any moment can turn into a holy moment.  God can invade the reality of your life at three o'clock one afternoon and change everything. 

-- Mark Batterson in “The Circle Maker”

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THE ABODE OF CHRIST

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  (John 15:4 ESV)

We rest in Christ, find our nourishment in Him. His roof of grace protects us from storms of guilt. His walls of providence secure us from destructive winds. His fireplace warms us during the lonely winters of life. We linger in the abode of Christ and never leave.

-- Max Lucado in “Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World"

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