Learning to be content

 I love the way the Cambridge Dictionary defines content, it states:

pleased with your situation and not hoping for change or improvement

So, yeah, sometimes I am like Paul and I know what it's like to be content in all circumstances. Other times I am more like Martha, "but Lord, if you had only..." (John 11:21)

It's a struggle, one I am sure we all face. Learning to be content with who we are, with what we have, where we see our life going, our jobs, our families, our image and I could go on and on.

You see, the times I am like Paul I am remembering to look UP. The times I am like Martha I am looking around, comparing, listening to the voices of the world.

But, the thing is Paul didn't start out content in His circumstances. He was actually Saul, a murderous dude that hated Jesus and everything He stood for. But then he encountered God and he was CHANGED and he LEARNED what it is like to be content. He didn't encounter God and all of the sudden was all peace, sunshine, and rainbows, no, he had to learn to be content, just like we do.

How do we learn what it means to be content?  

I think it starts with understanding the definition of what contentment means. To be pleased with your situation and not hoping for change or improvement...again, it's not easy, but I think too often we get too distracted and comfortable with the things of this world. To understand true contentment we have to have the broader picture in mind, our eternal home. If we will focus on God, reading His word, understanding why He calls us to do the things He has called us to do, we will see that His plan is better than our plan. Then and only then will our longing for the things of this world be replaced with the longing of God and Heaven. And we will learn, like Paul, to be content in "these" circumstances (whatever these are for you) because this is not our home. God has something better in mind for us.