5th Gear: Contentment: The Quest for Peace

5th Gear: Contentment: The Quest for Peace

“He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)

When John the Baptist tells his disciples this, he is saying that he is done with
comparing and competing. And more importantly, he is living with the peace – the
incredible peace – that comes from finding contentment wherever we are in life.

The Apostle Paul learned to live with this same contentment:

11  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances.
12  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.
13  I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)

“Whether living in plenty or in want” – Whether I am happy where I am in life at this
place and at this point in time, or I long for more, I am still content.

I … can … still … find … contentment.

Contentment. Is this not perhaps the ultimate prize of life on this earth? We know when
we have it, but we may not know when we don’t, because this world and its busyness
blind us to it.

“I am content. I have peace. You cannot rattle me. This world can throw all the
curveballs it wants, and I will not wobble or whine. If my Heavenly Father blesses me
with more, great, but I do not need it to be content.”

Notice Paul had to learn this. Even with his “Damascus Road” experience, even with
Jesus speaking to him personally, he had to learn to be content. And notice how he
learned:

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

This was Paul’s epiphany, and perhaps his defining moment. Have you experienced
yours?

We simply cannot find this contentment, this “peace that passes all understanding,” in
our own power, in our own effort – “in any and every situation.” Only through learning to
lean into and lean onto the Holy Spirit for His strength and His power, can we learn, as
Paul did,

… the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

If You Want a Little More:

To this point, when we first started 721, I imagined I would one day be speaking to
groups of 5,000 or more, serving as the “featured speaker” at Christian conferences
around the nation. Ha! And, at times, like John’s disciples, I took note of other men’s
ministries around me and thought, “look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

Comparing and competing caused me to suffer “higher engine RPMs, and it increased
the noise and wear and tear” on my body-mind-spirit – that is, until I learned the secret
of being content:

“A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.”