A person who is content has freed up their life from the habit of being satisfied, they are in fact at peace through the hard times and the good times. Contentment will show through our lives and in our attitude, speech, and behavior. Furthermore, contentment will only come through trust in and dependence upon the Lord. But caution, we must never have the attitude that we are content with our spiritual growth.
There are so many areas of life where the virtue of contentment can be applied. From the items we own to the people that God has placed in our lives. Contentment takes away our right to judge others or our right to take more than we should. The house, the cars, the wardrobe. Are we living within our means? Are we accepting God’s standard as our own, or are we so weighted down in the effort to be satisfied that we have lost sight of being content?
We must examine every part of our lives all the time to keep a balance of content. Our income and outflow, our walk with the Lord, our relationships, and our lifestyles. If we examine our world through the eyes of the Lord are we in line with him. Is this the kind of wardrobe I should have? What about the car I drive, or the house I live in? Is cluttered of stuff hard to get around. Life is so much easier to carry that which God has planned for our lives, it is only when we add our own agenda and fill it with unnecessary things and relationships that life becomes so difficult that we get weighted down and no longer can do the will of God.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. - Philippians 4:11
Dear Lord, help us today to be content with what we have. If we are carrying more than we should be, I ask that you would show us how to let go of that which we should. Search our hearts and reconnect us to that which is most important to you.