What Has Encouraged Me Today - Be Content

Be content. Most of the time this is easier said than done. It is particularly hard to be content when we're constantly encouraged not to be content. I read this verse last night and I find encouragement in these words:

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.

Phillipians 4:12

Doesn't that sound wonderful - "the secret of being content"? Well, what is the secret of being content? I will have to think more about this...but for now, I think that it's having God's perspective and realising that EVERYTHING we have comes from God. We need to be thankful for what he has given us. It's helpful, then, to focus on the good things; what we have instead of what we don't have. Let's get into the habit of telling God daily what we're thankful for.

What Has Encouraged Me Today...

I read a blog post this morning, "Busyness, Burnout and the Grace of God (4) Identity", and some comments that Jean made really struck me:

• "My significance doesn't come from what I do, or even what God does through me. My significance comes from the fact that I'm a child of God."
• "But life isn't about my renown: it's about making God's name known."
• "The world tells me that work defines my identity. It tells me that I'm nothing if I'm not using my degree, using my skills, and pursuing a career, preferably one which fulfills and energises me. But God tells me to use all my energies to love and serve others. I find myself in him, not in my work."
• "I can be faithful to God in the situation he's put me in, serve the people he's given me to love, and trust him to help them grow in his own timing and his own way."

This has challenged me to reconsider how I view my life. It has given me perspective. I need to be more content in my circumstances and remember to praise God for all that he has done for me. I need to remember to do all things that will please him and glorify his name.