Philippians 4:11
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12
and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own
business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your
daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be
dependent on anybody.
You are your words.
As I tiptoe into 2023 and leave behind a year that tugged on
my heart and left me with empty seats at the table, I’ve asked God to lay a
word for the year on my heart. For years, I’ve considered 1 Thessalonians
4:11-12 my life verse. The one I study to discern how to live my life. Of
course, I embrace all the Bible says, but these verses resonate with me.
As I prayed and read Bible verses in the hope God would help
me choose a word, the one that caught my attention was “content.”
A tall order in this world is to be satisfied with what I have and how I live.
In a Bible study of the word content, the leader said, “contentment is a
spiritual principle of dependence on the Lord rather than on human help or self.”
As I read those words, I read my life verse again. The last phrase “so that you
will not be dependent on anybody” struck me as contrary to contentment until I
understood, our contentment doesn’t depend on us taking care of ourselves, instead
we trust God to provide. In that, I am satisfied with His plan for my life.
The Apostle Paul spoke of contentment in Philippians. He learned to be content even though he lived a life of difficulties. In prison, on the streets, in homes where he
was well taken care of, and still he chose to be content and depend on God.
My prayer this year is to be content in my circumstances and
trust God to see me through. No doubt, I'll need to keep the word content in front of me and remind myself daily of God's care.
What word will you carry through the year?