Are you content?

Philippians 4: 11-13 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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. I can do all things through Him who give me strength."

Do you ever wish that you could learn the secret of contentment that Paul learned? What is it that causes us to become discontent? I think we struggle with contentment because we are always looking for the next best thing to make us happy, which we equate with being content. That next best thing comes in many forms: more money, more power, cars, houses, jobs, and the one I've dealt with the most...getting married.

Being a 30 something single, I can relate to this one! We are taught from the time we are little girls that we are princesses. Well, we all know what happens when you're a princess...a prince on a white horse will com in to rescue you & whisk you away to live happily ever after. This isn't what God intended for us at all! He wants to be our Prince that comes in to rescue us! If we aren't content in Him, then nothing else will bring us true contentment...not even marriage!

I, like most other single women, desire to be married and have a family. Those aren't bad desires, and I fully believe they are God given desires. I think we can make the mistake of looking at those desires as the point in which our lives can start. I've heard it said that if you are aren't content before you get married, marriage isn't going to make you content.

There is a much deeper desire within me to pursue Christ and the purpose He has for me. I have a desire within me to work with young girls and women. I have no clue where God is going to lead me in this area, but He is continually opening doors and I'm walking through them. I've found that when I pursue Christ and His calling, the other desires fade into the background. It doesn't mean that I've abandoned those desires...they just aren't the most important to me. A man was never meant to complete me. That's God's job!!!! If I'm doing my thing and pursuing God, then if/when God brings the guy, he'll just be the icing on the cake.

I think this was the secret Paul learned: if you pursue Christ and the desires he places within you, your striving for all those other desires ceases. It's easy to be content when you aren't trying to seek out the next best thing to bring you contentment.