... for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

Contentment isn’t happiness. Happiness comes and goes depending on the circumstances.

Contentment is learned through accepting circumstances we cannot change, producing a steady, peaceful mind and heart.

God knows we are human and understands how we feel.

But, He gave us a way to not let our feelings (happiness or the lack thereof) dictate everything we think or do.

Because Jesus loves, it doesn’t mean He loves everything we think or do. There is a trend happening these days that says because Jesus is so loving, He understands and accepts xyz.

He understands. It doesn’t mean he accepts.

Jesus said, “Go and sin no more” for a reason.

It goes like this: “Trust Me. Do “these things” and it will hurt you. Do these things and you will be able to not only endure in a broken, suffering, world, but I will give you contentment, peace, and joy in the midst of it.

Contentment is just one of those promises given to us when we do it God’s way. His presence increases in our life, and we grow stronger in our spirit instead of in ourselves.

The Apostle Paul said this to the Galatians:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

To crucify your passions and sinful desires means to reject them; to not let them determine, dictate, or decide; to reject anything that interferes with what God says. It is a choice, a decision; not a feeling.

We can be a Christian, love God, go to church, and live out our lives being weak in our spirit because time after time we have carved out our own path in life in our own way. When things go wrong, when our circumstances are not ideal, it is very telling how much of us is in our lives and how much of God.

If God tells us we can have contentment no matter our circumstances, we can.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.