Find contentment in an intimate relationship with God

With Christmas over, it’s easy for a “down” time to hit.

Gifts, extra days off, special feasts, times with family and friends all brought hope of happiness. But now we get the bills on our credit cards. We realize our family times were stressful. We gained weight from the feasting. What we had hoped for didn’t materialize. We are left disappointed and in search for something to bring us lasting satisfaction. Would a winter vacation or Spring Break getaway do it?

It seems like we no sooner get to that next event in life only to realize that it didn’t deliver what we were searching for. What’s wrong? What’s missing?

The apostle Paul would say, “You’re lacking contentment.”

God made us to desire contentment. You will constantly seek to have it but will only be disappointed as you search for it in all the wrong places. As Paul sits chained to Roman guards around the clock, waiting for Nero to decide if he execute him, he writes a letter to his fellow Christians in Philipp and tells them about the secret of being content.

Yes, Paul is saying he’s content in his current situation and wants to share the secret of contentment with his friends. Philippians 4:11 says, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”

Circumstances or people could not bring Paul contentment, nor could they take contentment away from him, because they are not the source of it. Paul says contentment is something that we have to learn, because it’s not natural.

Is contentment missing in your life?

Where can it be found? In an intimate relationship with God.

Want to know more, please contact me at pastorgause@gmail.com

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Find contentment in an intimate relationship with God."