The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The School of Contentment"
"Class is in this day. The School of Contentment is open."
"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Ephesians 4:13).
In our present lives, contentment does not come naturally. It can only come supernaturally, through a learning process whereby we discover the character, nature, and way of God to the degree that a conviction enters and settles within our heart. Namely, He will be enough, no matter what. Indeed, if we "learn Christ," we learn contentment (Ephesians 4:20).
The Lord Jesus teaches us to be content by the example of His life, the truth of His Word, and the involved presence of His heart and hand. We read in Luke's Gospel that our Lord was willing, in deference to His Heavenly Father and His earthly parents, to delay the beginning of His ministry for eighteen years (Luke 2:43-52). Thereby, "He increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man." A contented heart alone can result in such a life lived of pleasing others. One can only imagine the sublime beauty of nearly two decades wherein the Lord Jesus blessed the hearts of God and people by fulfilling the ancient foretelling of His character and life - "He is altogether lovely" (Song of Solomon 5:16). He did so, knowing who He was and the "Father's business" for which He had come. However, the Savior was willing to wait for a long season, and while doing so, experience the wonder that God can fill and fulfill a human heart amid any circumstances. "Thou art my portion, o Lord" (Psalm 119:57).
Scripture also motivates and empowers contentment. Or rather, Scripture believed and followed results in the learning of contentment. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). We will all be tempted throughout our lifetime to murmur as did the Israelites after God delivered them from Egypt through Moses. "Hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?" (Exodus 14:11). The more we embrace the Word of God and it embraces us, the more we will know that its promises of a heart content in Christ are far truer than any emotion or sensation of discontent we may feel. For the born again believer in the Lord Jesus, discontentment is an illusion that prods us to see the Savior in far lesser terms than the Bible declares. Indeed, if in this moment, Christ is not enough to fill and fulfill our hearts, why should we believe anything Scripture says about Him? "Christ… is our life" (Colossians 3:4). He is, of course, more than enough to infuse and maintain contentment because God made our hearts to be satisfied by His Son and by His Son alone. "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).
Finally, God ever works in our lives personally to reveal His presence as the power for a contented heart. The truth of the matter is that we could lose everything, but if Christ remains, we have lost nothing of that for which our hearts were created. "To live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). Much will counter this truth, and we will most certainly require ongoing learning of a most vital and valuable lesson. Our Heavenly Father will work accordingly in our lives as we walk with Him, teaching us the truth of contentment, and working to reveal that only He can satisfy our hearts. Class is in this day. The school of contentment is open, as it will be throughout every day of this present education whereby we discover Christ alone as the peace, the joy, and yes, our contentment in all things.
"Godliness with contentment is great gain."
(I Timothy 6:6)
Weekly Memory Verse
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy,"
(Psalm 107:2)
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