“I Have Learned To Be Content”
April 6, 2016
Philippians 4:11,13 “…For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances….I can do everything though Him who gives me strength.”
“Good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, things going my way or not, whatever my circumstances,” Paul said, “I am content.” Can you say that? My experience is we have learned how to be stressed, depressed, overwhelmed, how to come apart, and how to be discontent. Paul, who had every right to be depressed since he was in prison, said, “I have learned to be content.” The source of his contentment was Jesus Christ. He found that in Jesus he had the strength to handle whatever came his way. Life is difficult. Along the way you get skinned up, beat up, bruised, and sometimes you may feel like you are getting the short end of the stick. But God has given us a lot of good gifts, and one of His best gifts is the gift of choice. You don’t always get to choose your circumstances, and some of you are in circumstances you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself in a million years. But you do get to choose what your attitude and response is going to be in every circumstance. You can choose to feel sorry for yourself and whine your life away or you can choose joy. You can choose life. My favorite quote is, “Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.” Misery is a choice that we make. Everybody has handicaps. Some are visible and some are invisible. You can choose to let your handicaps handicap you for life, or you can choose life and joy. Paul said, “I am in prison, but I am content.” He did not choose self-pity. He chose to live for Christ and discovered that in choosing Christ, he chose contentment. I hope you will make that choice today. Choose Christ. In Him is all you need.
– Tim Thompson, Senior Pastor
“Good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, things going my way or not, whatever my circumstances,” Paul said, “I am content.” Can you say that? My experience is we have learned how to be stressed, depressed, overwhelmed, how to come apart, and how to be discontent. Paul, who had every right to be depressed since he was in prison, said, “I have learned to be content.” The source of his contentment was Jesus Christ. He found that in Jesus he had the strength to handle whatever came his way. Life is difficult. Along the way you get skinned up, beat up, bruised, and sometimes you may feel like you are getting the short end of the stick. But God has given us a lot of good gifts, and one of His best gifts is the gift of choice. You don’t always get to choose your circumstances, and some of you are in circumstances you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself in a million years. But you do get to choose what your attitude and response is going to be in every circumstance. You can choose to feel sorry for yourself and whine your life away or you can choose joy. You can choose life. My favorite quote is, “Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.” Misery is a choice that we make. Everybody has handicaps. Some are visible and some are invisible. You can choose to let your handicaps handicap you for life, or you can choose life and joy. Paul said, “I am in prison, but I am content.” He did not choose self-pity. He chose to live for Christ and discovered that in choosing Christ, he chose contentment. I hope you will make that choice today. Choose Christ. In Him is all you need.
– Tim Thompson, Senior Pastor