Sunday, December 21, 2008

Contentment. . .

Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hebrews 13:5


Painting by Thomas Kinkade


You may find contentment to be one of the more difficult Christian virtues to develop. Every day you are bombarded with advertising messages that, by and large, seek to make you discontent so that you can be persuaded to fill your new-found need with some new possession.

Think of it this way" Contentment is a by-product of thankfulness. Set aside some time each day to thank God for all He has done for you. And verbalize your thanks. Count your blessings, one by one, thanking God for each and every one. Soon you will have a new understanding of what you have, rather than what you don't have.

When we cannot find contentment in ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.

~ Francois La Rochefoucauld

When I read this devotion it really struck a chord with me. I need to be content with what I have and stop coveting things I want but don't need.

Blessings to you!




Devotion taken from 'God's Daily Answer'.

5 comments:

Bo said...

Hi Carol...The timing couldn't have been better for this post about contentment...Thanks and Merry Christmas! ;-) Bo

Anonymous said...

I agree Carol, I hope there is contentment for each and everyone. Nice post, thank you.

Hugs,
Chris

Dawn Marie said...

Yep I agree also..I stop and remind myself all the time to be grateful for what we have. Nothing beats our loved ones. And I do ask God for help--all the time. I've learned who is in control and its not us.

the voice of melody said...

Especially in this economy, it's when we look around at what we have that we can clearly see how blessed we are. And of course, our great God, and our families top the list.

Many sweet blessings!

Barbara Jean said...

Good morning Carol.
I just stopped by to say hi, and found your note on contentment.
It is something i struggled with for years.
You are so right, being thankful is the key.
When I wake up in the morning i try to remember to thank God for His love for me, and His word., and His promises in it.. When i walk i thank Him for my arms, and legs, and the ability to get out and exercise. Then i thank Him for all my senses. The ability to see His creation, hear the songs of the birds, and smell the freshness of the air. I love that I can touch the soft skin of my new grand baby.
I thank Him for my husband of 40 years, and for a beautiful family.
I was not always, and often times now i forget. to start my day that way. But I'm so much happier when I do.
And you are right, the more you are thankful, the more you see what you have to be thankful for, and the more content you become.
And don't forget to tell those you love how thankful you are for them.
You never know how long we will have them.

Thank you for the reminder.
Blessings on your day.
Barbara Jean