Contentment - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) December 22, 2020

Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done. Count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

That was the hymn on my lips as I opened my laptop to get started for Praise and Pray today. I'd asked the Lord for guidance on what it was He needed me to share and I was drawn to the issue of contentment.

Two specific verses jumped out at me -

Philippians 4:11-12 - 11) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12) 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.

Hebrews 13:5-6 - 5) Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6) So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

To me, contentment is a place where we are thankful for what we have, no matter how little it seems. It is a confidence that comes from knowing that no matter what, God's got you. That confidence teaches that whatever you don't have, you will get when the appointed time arrives.

Contentment - in practice - isn't easy. Oftentimes we think to be content means we don't aspire for more. And yet, we are told by our loving Father to ask Him for He is the source of all good things (Psalm 16:2).

What must not get lost is that as we walk with the Lord, our focus must be on God and not simply the things we want. The reason being that many of those wants will become eventual benefits of a relationship with Him. None of that will happen, however, if we don't focus on Him and not stuff, no matter how important they seem.

I pray that today, the Lord will give us all the grace to understand and walk in the blessing of contentment. May we enter into a season where we are grateful for the sacrifice God made by letting His Son come to the world to bring us light only to die for our sins.

As we celebrate Christmas, let's not worry about how different things are this year. Let's remember the wonders God showed us this year and thank Him in contentment with His provision and expectation of the more that comes from a genuine relationship.

See you at Praise & Pray (for others) at 12 Noon EST or whenever you get here. We'll be thanking God for the regular miracles He's dishing out to our sisters in fellowship and all that is to come for each and everyone of us. God bless!