Therewith To Be Content

As a 9-month-old puppy, Cooper's not content anywhere with anything.

If he's outside, he wants to be all the way over there instead of right here.

If he's inside, he'd rather be with Danny than with me. And then vice versa.

If he's chewing on a bone, he'd rather have the one Diesel's chewing on. And that never goes well.

If he's downstairs, he'd rather be upstairs.

If he's out on the deck, he'd rather be wherever that random noise just came from.

There's no being content with the approximately 64 million smells within reach of his leash. There's something bigger, better, and more interesting to smell elsewhere. Leashes hold him back from his true potential in life. Apparently.

Cooper's discontent is a running joke in our house, but I often think about how true it is for human beings, too.

How many items are in your Amazon cart right now because you're ready to buy the next thing?

Do you have a list of spring home improvement projects because the house just isn't enough the way it is?

Will one more outfit, one more coffee travel mug, or one more cute saying on a pillow that will grab and hold your attention?

Is there a running list of books you need to get because there's always one more and one more that will satisfy? (Ouch, ok, that one's personal and very, very true.)

Am I comparing us to a discontented puppy today? Yes. Yes, I am.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:11-13

A few thoughts to start the week:
1. Contentment is learned, not arrived upon. If you fall back into discontent, recommit yourself to Christ's strength.

2. It is guaranteed that you will be in different states. Don't be surprised when you have to relearn how to be content at different times with different people in different places.

3. Valleys and mountaintops look and feel very different, but the contentment that you can experience in both is the exact same contentment.

4. We have been instructed by the Lord Himself to be content. It's not a suggestion or a possibility that might-could-maybe happen, but an experience that He has called us into. With Him.

5. There will be hunger and suffering in our lives, but those are the moments when we're to do all things through Christ because He is the one doing the strengthening. This one isn't a DIY project - it's all about Him.

Paul experienced the contentment that comes from walking with Jesus every single day, and he's cheering us on as we read his letter today. We don't need to pull against the leash of life to get somewhere else. We can experience peace and joy right here, right where He has placed us on purpose for a purpose. There is something He wants to show us in this place, and I don't know about you, but now I'm excited to see what that might be.

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