Content in His Calling

                                        By Heather Lingley

       “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned in whatsoever state I am,therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11

      Contentment. One word, and yet one with which many of us associate valuable and difficult lessons. Learning to be content is something that the Lord has really been working on over the last several years and He’s not done yet J. The Lord desires for us to be content and to rest in His ways and timing in all things, ”And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” 1Timothy 6:8 and “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.” Hebrews 13:5. What exactly does it mean to be content? In both of these verses, content is defined as: to be possessed of unfailing strength, to be strong, to suffice, to be enough, to be satisfied, to be contented. Webster’s 1828 dictionary gives the following definition: rest or quietness of mind in the present condition; satisfaction which holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition, or further desire, and often implying a moderate degree of happiness. Another definition that I am fond of is: realizing that God has provided everything that I need for my present happiness. Being content means that we are at rest and fully satisfied in the place that the Lord has us at a given time. It means that we are faithfully serving Him and carrying out the tasks He has given us. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17 &  “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” Colossians 3:23 Not only should we be at rest in the place where the Lord has us but we should also be joyful and excited about the season that we are in. For me right now, that season is singleness. This has been an area in which I have really struggled and at times still do. Since a very early age, I have desired to be a wife and mother; in my mind I thought that this would mean that I would be married in my early 20’s but the Lord had different plans. I am now 25 and over the last year I have watched 4 friends get married. Several years ago it would have been a great struggle for me to attend a wedding and not wonder, “when will it be my turn?” I had the privilege to attend 3 of the 4 weddings and I was able to really rejoice with those getting married. What had changed over the last few years? Over two years ago, the Lord began to show me that my focus and main goal is life was marriage. My focus was on where I though I should be rather than on where the Lord had me. I was coveting something that the Lord had not chosen to give me at the present time. Some notable verses on covetousness are: Luke 12:15, Romans 1:29, Ephesians 5:3, and Colossians 3:5. In each of these verses, covetousness is defined as: greedy desire to have more, covetousness, avarice. The verse that really stood out to me was Colossians 3:5 which says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:” For me to covet marriage was the same in God’s eyes as worshiping a false god. Being an idol worshiper was the last thing I wanted to be! I knew that I needed to be content in the season that the Lord had me but it seemed like such a hard task. In my own strength I could not surrender this area but in the Lord’s strength all things are possible. “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26.  When I asked Him to give me contentment for the season that I was in and started directing my attention to the Lord, I began to experience such a peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3. To have ones mind stayed on the Lord means to: lay, rest, support, put, uphold, lean upon. When we are in this state, the Lord is our support and we are at rest in Him. The action on our part in order to be in this place is to trust in Him, which means to: have confidence, be confident, to be bold, to be secure, to cause to trust, make secure, to feel safe, be careless.  This verse in Isaiah along with many other places in the Bible, make it perfectly clear that we can be at peace and in a state of rest regardless of the circumstances. Jesus is the one who fulfills, sustains, and gives true joy. If we are not content in Him alone then we are not going to be fully content when we get the thing that we are longing after (marriage, children, a new house, etc.). He needs to be our all in all; the One that we long to know better and to have a closer relationship with. “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;” Pslams 63:1 and “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” Ps 84:2   

              Learning to be content is a life long process. The Lord provides opportunity after opportunity for us to be content with Him alone regardless of the circumstances. It is a daily choice that each one of us must make. What it the most important goal in life? What are we really seeking after? May each one of us fix our eyes upon Jesus, knowing that,“ The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” Psalms 145:9  and may we be able to say as Paul did, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”Philippians 4:11. God bless!