Learning the Secret of Enough
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Have you ever noticed how easily “enough” moves?
A little more money. Better health. A less demanding schedule. That one thing we have been researching and perhaps casually mentioning to a friend or loved one.
Then we get what we wanted, enjoy it for a while, and discover that enough has moved down the road again.
I recognize that pattern in myself. I can appreciate what I have and still spend a surprising amount of time thinking about what would make it better.
Take synthesizers. I have a few. They are nice and make some nice piano sounds as well as the occasional “UFO landing to invade Earth, so run for your lives” sounds.
However, there always seems to be another synthesizer coming out that does something else that is even better. And then there is the vintage analog market. Don’t even get me started on that.
“Hey! You should buy this 45-year old analog beast that weighs a ton, has little to no modern accoutrement, and costs enough to put your kid through college…maybe for a year. Oh, and did I mention the parts inside are really old, and you have to hire a technician, if you can find a qualified one, to repair it, and since it is worth $28k, he might just steal it??”
Awesome.
Some desires involve real needs. Praying for work, healing, or a restored relationship does not make us ungrateful. Still, there is a question worth bringing before God:
Have I made receiving something more a condition for having peace today?
Contentment takes practice
Paul writes:
“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
The word learned encourages me. Paul’s contentment developed as he walked with Christ through hunger and provision, abundance and need.
We can learn too.
Do you remember starting off at a sport you really wanted to play? Remember all the hours of being taught to play the game, master its techniques, and then practice, practice, practice? Well, apparently we can learn contentment too!
We begin with our actual circumstances and honest desires. Sometimes gratitude and restlessness arrive in the same prayer:
Father, thank You for what You have given me. Help me understand why I am finding it difficult to enjoy it.
Jesus taught us to ask for daily bread. Our needs matter, and we can bring them to our Father.
Personally, I would appreciate a detailed explanation of how the next six months will work. Daily bread asks me to trust him today.
Christ sustains us here
Paul continues:
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
I remember when I first read this verse. I was young and foolishly unaware of the intricacies of Biblical hermeneutics.
I thought, “Hey! I can do all things?? Awesome! I’m going to try and bench 300lbs tomorrow.”
Fail.
What I hadn’t learned yet was context. In context, Paul is describing Christ’s strength for living faithfully through both abundance and need.
That promise reaches us while circumstances remain difficult. Christ sustains us through the unanswered prayer, the disappointment, and the waiting.
His death and resurrection give us reason to trust his love. Our circumstances may remain uncertain; his mercy gives us somewhere secure to stand.
And his care often comes through people. Paul gratefully received the Philippians’ support. We can trust Christ and still say, “I need help.”
Receiving today’s gifts
Paul tells Timothy:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
We readily recognize gain in a larger paycheck or another achievement. We may overlook the growing freedom to enjoy what we already have.
Comparison makes that difficult. Something we enjoyed yesterday can feel inadequate today simply because we saw what someone else possesses.
Perhaps you really love your Land Rover Defender. It's cool. Totally. Until someone drives by in the Range Rover, and now the Defender seems woefully inadequate.
Gratitude helps us pause and notice that the thing we’ve been blessed with is a blessing again.
A meal. A friendship. A place to rest. Someone who checks on us. An opportunity to serve.
These ordinary mercies count.
We can also pursue worthwhile goals while receiving today as a gift. We can ask God for change while recognizing His kindness in the waiting.
This week, choose one desire that has been occupying your attention. Bring it honestly to God. Then name one present gift and take one faithful step with what he has entrusted to you.
Perhaps encourage someone, share something, care for what you own, or ask for help.
Contentment makes room for gratitude.
Gratitude nurtures contentment.
And as we learn to trust our faithful Shepherd, peace grows.
The Midweek Table is a weekly blog made available by The Local to help us continue to press into Jesus and His mission for our lives. It may be a recap of the discussion from the previous week’s Local table gathering. It may be thoughts to ponder and things to help us grow in our walk with Jesus.
Each week, The Local meets in various homes around a table to eat, worship, read and discuss the Bible, and pray for each other and our community. Living on mission is our response to the grace and love Jesus has shown us. We share the Gospel and show love to those we encounter where we live, learn, work, and play.
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