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In what state would you most enjoy living? If you said the state of contentment, you would get my drift. With all the turmoil in the world and complexities of life, we long for inner contentment. In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul left us some principles that foster contentment. He wrote, “Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” For Paul, the antidote for worry is telling God about all our needs and thanking him for our blessings. He then says, instead of filling our minds with a lot of negative stuff, fix our thoughts on what is “true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.” Next he then offers himself as an example–one who has learned from good times and bad how to be content. He says, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 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.” “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Paul’s secret for contentment was keeping Christ at the forefront of his life. That can be our secret too.
