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EP 46: Our Need for Contentment

by Marci Ferrell
Christian Living Contentment Encouragement Podcast

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Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord. #contentment @thankfulhomemaker
Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord. #contentment @thankfulhomemaker

Inside: Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, and so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord.

 

Podcast Ep 46: Our Need for Contentment -Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord. It does not come naturally to us. @mferrell

The hope of today’s episode on contentment is to remind us today how rich we are in Christ and that we will find our satisfaction in Him and Him alone.

I want to open with the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians:

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need.

~ Philippians 4:11-12


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As I’ve been meditating on Philippians 4:11-12 on contentment I’m reminded that there isn’t a program where we can automatically be contented people. No 5 Steps to Contentment or Learn to be Content Retreat Weekend. Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord. It does not come naturally to us. We know deep down the secret to contentment is to keep our eyes on the Lord in every situation. It’s when we take our eyes off Him is when we fall into this sin.

Contentment in our walk as believers is learned, just as Paul learned it, so do we as we walk this walk with the Lord. Click to Tweet

“So what does contentment mean? It is an inner sense of rest or peace that comes from being right with God and knowing that He is in control of all that happens to us.”

~ Steven J. Cole

I’ve noticed there aren’t many books on Christian contentment and a classic is one by Jeremiah Burroughs called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. The title made me pause and think how well he defined contentment as a rarity even in our life as believers. It is a rarity, and usually, we walk in a spirit of discontentedness.

“Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

~ Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

Show Notes:

“We have here an account of Paul’s learning, not that which he got at the feet of Gamaliel, but that which he got at the feet of Christ.”   ~ Matthew Henry

“These are both hard lessons to learn; I do not know which is the more difficult of the two. Probably it is easier to know how to go down than to know how to go up. How many Christians have I seen grandly glorifying God in sickness and poverty when they have come down in the world; and ah! How often have I seen other Christians dishonoring God when they have grown rich, or when they have risen to a position of influence among their fellow-men! These two lessons grace alone can fully teach us.”      ~ Charles Spurgeon

The excerpt below from Lydia Brownback’s book, Contentment: A Godly Woman’s Adornment:

“Contentment won’t be found in changing the things we don’t like about our lives, which is what the author of Hebrews is telling us.

In his words, we find why contentment is possible, even when we lack our heart’s desires.  We can be content with our lives exactly as they are today because God has promised he is always with us.  Our problem really isn’t that we need something we don’t have; our problem is that we don’t find God to be enough for us.  Many of us can’t even comprehend how God can meet us in our empty places and satisfy us fully.  We are open to the idea, but we just don’t see how it’s possible.

Sometimes we get a wrong idea about how God satisfies us.  He doesn’t come to us on our terms, taking the role of a surrogate for the things or relationships we lack.  He comes in place of those things, giving us something even better.  The whole reason we can’t resonate with the words of Hebrews 13:5  is that we are bound up in the things of this life and our desires for them.  If we would just look away from those, we would find that God delights to fill up our empty places with joy, peace, guidance, love security and communion with him through his Spirit.  Once we get a taste of that we find that it is no second-best consolation prize.  We will find it to be better, richer, fuller than any earthy relationship or material blessing.

We can find this for ourselves by guarding against focusing overly much on what this world offers.  We can–and should–certainly enjoy the material things God gives us, but only if we hold them loosely.  It is the love of this world’s blessings, the focus on getting them, that is the problem, not the blessings themselves.

We don’t need anything more than what we have right now, today, in order to be content.  The Bible says so; therefore it must be true.  The choice is ours.”

Scripture & Resources:

Philippians 4:11-12

Philippians 4:13

1 Corinthians 15:10

Hebrews 13:5

Matthew 6:33

Learning Contentment

Practical Steps to Overcome Self-Pity

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs

Contentment: A Godly Woman’s Adornment by Lydia Brownback

A Surprising Ingredient in Christian Contentment – @Desiring God

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Related posts:

  1. Learning Contentment
  2. Contentment is a Choice
  3. EP 24: Dealing with Our Grumbling and Complaining
  4. Podcast EP 74: Encouragement in Times of a Pandemic


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Marci Ferrell
It is better to get wisdom than gold. Gold is anot It is better to get wisdom than gold. Gold is another’s, wisdom is our own; gold is for the body and time, wisdom for the soul and eternity.⁣
~ Matthew Henry⁣
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Read Seeking Whatever is Good at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Whether you're running errands, doing household ch Whether you're running errands, doing household chores, or sipping your coffee, you can do it in style, reminding yourself and others you are a Thankful Homemaker 🥰⁣
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Shop TH Gear at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
What do you think of when you hear the word discer What do you think of when you hear the word discernment? The dictionary defines it as making a distinction between good and evil and truth and falsehood. As believers, we all desire to be discerning and wise in our choices. As we mature and grow in our knowledge of the scriptures, the hope is we will use that information to make choices in line with God's will.⁣
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We become discerning people by not just knowing what to think but how to think. Being spiritually discerning is an ability to see the world the way God does. This comes about as we grow and mature spiritually into the likeness of Christ. It is about seeing “All That's Good.”⁣
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Read Seeking Whatever is Good at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
“Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench i “Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench into our coping mechanisms. It brings us to the end of what we can control and forces us to cry out to God. God doesn’t waste our waiting. He uses it to conform us to the image of his Son.”⁣
~ Betsy Childs Howard⁣
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Listen in to EP 23: Seasons of Waiting at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
As I’m sharing this episode, I’m finding mysel As I’m sharing this episode, I’m finding myself in a waiting room on the Lord, and it’s been a long one, and I don’t see an end near.  It has reminded me that when I gave myself to Him, I gave up my “right” to be in charge. The reality is we never were in charge anyway; we just came to that understanding when the Lord opened our eyes to His sovereign control over our lives.⁣
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Even though it is a truth I know or we know, how many times do we want to think that somehow we can effect change in our life situations?⁣
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Waiting is hard because there is no guarantee that my waiting will end in this lifetime. One thing I have learned – my waiting has deepened my trust in the Lord and has helped me to develop patience, perseverance, and endurance.⁣
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It’s also given me different eyes to see with compassion others who are in a season of waiting.⁣
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Listen in to EP 23 Seasons of Waiting at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Six questions I have written in my Bible that have Six questions I have written in my Bible that have been a help to me over the years may be a help to you, too, to be prayerful and slow to speak. These are helpful questions not just in our friendships but in our marriages and with our children, and truly any of our relationships:⁣
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1. Is this the time to say this?⁣
2. Am I the person to say this?⁣
3. Is it necessary?⁣
4. Is it true?⁣
5. Is it kind?⁣
6. Do I need to say this?⁣
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Listen in to EP 140: Threats to Biblical Friendship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
We all know that fostering true biblical friendshi We all know that fostering true biblical friendship isn’t easy – it takes work. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we’re going to have trouble in this world, and trouble does touch all our lives in various areas, but this includes our friendships too.⁣
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We’ll be hurt; we’ll be the ones hurting others; selfishness is a battle; jealousy and envy raise their ugly heads; we have our fears and insecurities, failed expectations, the damage our tongues do to one another, not appropriating the gospel and these all come from hearts that are still battling sin. ⁣
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So when these threats to our friendship with one another in Christ come up, it shouldn’t surprise us that we have these issues, but what we need to keep at the forefront of our minds is how we respond and deal with them when they do come up. ⁣
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I want to walk us through some of these threats, and this list I’m working with isn’t exhaustive – there are many more threats than what I am addressing today – but these are areas that stood out to me that have been a battle within some of my friendships over the years. Sadly, it is often the sin I’m battling in my heart, and I need to get my thinking, attitudes, and actions lined up with God’s Word.⁣
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Listen to EP 140 Threats to Biblical Friendship at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
May we be women who are willing to return to the a May we be women who are willing to return to the authority of God’s Word, embrace God’s priorities for our lives and homes, and live out the beauty and wonder of womanhood as God created it to be.⁣
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Read more at The History of Modern Feminism at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
Women will never find fulfillment and satisfaction Women will never find fulfillment and satisfaction by trying to be "like" men and shedding their uniqueness as a female.  They will only find satisfaction in Christ.⁣
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Come read The History of Modern Feminism at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
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