The Grace of Contentment

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb. 13:5-6)

One key virtue that ought to stand out in the life of every Christian is the characteristic of contentment. You will not be an effective witness for Jesus Christ unless it is evident to those around you that in spite of your circumstances you possess a thankful and contented heart. Paul wrote that a believer ought to be "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding (overflowing) therein with thanksgiving" (Col 2:7). God's desire for you is that your life overflows with thanksgiving.

The key to a blessed life is not about finding the perfect spouse, the perfect situation or the perfect circumstances. The key to a blessed life is having the right attitude no matter what situation we find ourselves in namely an attitude of contentment. Thanksgiving flows from a heart of contentment. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow I want to share with you some truths to help you learn the secret of contentment:

I. The Problem of Covetousness:

The author of Hebrews writes, “Let your conversation (lifestyle) be without covetousness…” Covetousness is the opposite of contentment. A covetous person always wants more than what he or she has. It’s been said that when little is not enough nothing will ever be enough. Many people are deceived into thinking that they need more to be happy. That's a trap. If what you have is not enough what makes you think more will ever be enough. Solomon wrote, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity” (Ecc. 5:10).

CCovetousness isn’t the answer to true happiness and contentment, it’s the enemy. Covetousness draws us away from the source of true contentment the leads to thanksgiving. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:6-10).

Paul teaches us here that great gain is not found in having more money so that we can buy more things. You are rich—you have great gain when you possess godliness with contentment. Don’t allow the pursuit of money to draw you away for the source of true joy and contentment, namely pursuing God and walking with Him. Don’t ever go after money and material things to find happiness and contentment. And don’t ever go hard after money and material gain and the expense of pursuing hard after God.

The love of money will lead you away from the source of real joy and contentment and down a road that leads to misery and destruction.

II. The Power of Contentment:

The author of Hebrews gives the secret to a blessed life: He said that rather than being covetous, he wrote "be content": He said, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:” (Hebrews 9:5).

Contentment is a choice. It’s not based on circumstances and comforts. We can choose to be content. Choosing to be content is choosing to change our attitude. “Contentment has little to do with position and everything to do with your disposition.” And in order to change our attitude we need to change the way we think. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philip. 4:11-12).

The contentment that we can have through Christ is powerful because it doesn’t depend on our circumstances but on Jesus who strengthens our hearts and ministers to us the grace of contentment. We live in a world that bombards us with messages, advertisements and images that are designed to make us feel dissatisfied and discontent. And as a result we too often begin to focus on what we don't have rather than on the many blessings that we do have. We get so preoccupied with what we don't have that we fail to enjoy what we do have.

How does Jesus strengthen our hearts and fill them with the grace of contentment? Well, rather than thinking and focusing on what we don't have we need focus on what we do have and be thankful to God. And don't just focus on the things of this life that you should be thankful for but on the riches that we have in Christ--think on the promises of God--think on the spiritual blessing you have in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:15-19). And it’s in that process of focusing on the many blessings that we have in Christ and actually offering unto God the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that God begins to pour out the grace of contentment into our hearts (Philip. 4:6-8).

III. The Promises of Christ:

Notice the reason that is given for why we can be content with what we have: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Someone said, “I rather know the baker than to have a warehouse full of bread.” Oh no matter how little or how much we have today we can be content today—and we ought to be so very thankful today because the bread of life—the God of the universe promises that he will be with us—that he will never leave us nor forsake us.

When God makes a promise we can count on it—we can stand on it—we can find hope and comfort through it. And because of the promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us the author of Hebrews writes, “...that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper I will not fear…”

Martin Lloyd Jones said, “Do you realize that most of your unhappiness is the result of you listening to yourself more than talking to yourself.” Oh, when you are listening to yourself and feeling discouraged, dissatisfied or fearful you need to stand on the promises of God. And through those promise you need to learn to boldly preach to yourself and encourage yourself in the Lord. “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man or anything else will do unto me.”

The author of Hebrews writes, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15).

God will channel to us the grace of contentment as we offer unto him our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. Let’s take some time not only during this thanksgiving holiday but continually to focus on the goodness of God, the blessings of God and the promises of God. And let us offer unto the Lord the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving with the fruit of our lips giving thanks unto his name.