Contentment Is Not Giving Up

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Philippians 4:11

My daughter, my son, I want to clear up some confusion in your head today: contentment is not giving up. It isn't quitting on your dreams, it isn't settling for whatever comes just because you're tired of fighting. Paul wrote those words in prison, and even so he wasn't a man who had settled down — he kept working, writing, planting churches.

Contentment is a peace I teach, something learned, not a state you're born already knowing. You can keep pursuing the better job, the bigger house, the complete healing, and still be content today, right where you're standing. They're different things: one is about tomorrow, the other is about the peace of right now.

I don't want you paralyzed, and I don't want you bitter for not having arrived yet. I want you standing, working, dreaming, and at the same time at peace with Me while the road is still unfinished. That, too, is faith.