" … I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12 (NIV)

Let me begin with a confession: I have times when I struggle to be content with my life. It isn't something that happens all the time, but it still happens far too often for my taste. How I wish that Paul's words in Philippians 4:12 could describe my spiritual life!

I began thinking about contentment as I read my daughter, Kylie, a picture book about the end times and the hope of glory that awaits all who trust in Jesus Christ. As Kylie and I discussed what we were reading, I was reminded that our sense of contentment is inseparably connected with how far we see into the future.

What do I mean? In other words, if we only see a week or a month into the future, we may have good reason to be discontent with life. And most of us are discontent, at least at certain times. But if we look past this life to the life to come, we can understand why the saints of God were able to be content with whatever this life sent their way. As we become more and more aware of our heavenly destination, we become less and less concerned with the bumps and bruises we suffer along the way.

Are you content with your life? Have you begun to see your life as a glass that's half empty? If so, fix your eyes on the prize that awaits all of those who pass from this life to the next safe in the arms of Jesus.

— Matt Donnelly, for the ChristianityToday.com staff

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