“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content…”
—Philippians 4:11
AS BELIEVERS, we confess the glorious truth of the sovereignty of God. We confess that the world and everything in it is not a product of random chance, luck, or fortune, but of God’s will. God created it and by His providence He cares for it. And His providence includes all things that happen in heaven and on earth, nothing is excluded. From the hairs of our head to the chirping of a cricket in the forest, our God reigns over all things; absolutely nothing is left to chance. Ephesians 1:11, “God works all things according to the counsel of His will.” Daniel 4:35, “God does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.” Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.” Psalm 115:3, “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” Psalm 103:19, “The LORD has established His throne in heaven and His kingdom rules over all.”
THIS IS THE confession of every true believer. However, the demonstration that our confession is genuine is found in a life of contentment. How we respond to our income, material possessions, spouse, friendships, church, trials, disappointments, sickness, death, etc. is the loudest confession the world sees and hears. Contentment is demonstrated in our life when it’s obvious to others that we truly believe we are always in the hands of God. As David wrote in Psalm 31:15: “My times are in Your hand.”
DO YOU POSSESS the grace of contentment? Are you known as a person who is satisfied with what God has given to you or do you constantly grumble and complain about your circumstances? If we constantly murmur and complain about our lot in life, then our Christian confession that God “upholds and governs heaven and earth with all creatures and that nothing happens by chance” is nothing but empty chatter or clanging cymbals. Think how it looks to the unbelieving world when Christians profess to love, trust, and follow the Lord on one hand, and on the other hand we grumble, murmur, and complain about what the Lord gives us or the things He sends into our life. Do you possess the grace of contentment or are you known as one who constantly complains? “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5).
Tuesday Encouragement: August 20, 2024
In Christ,
Pastor S. Henry