Resilience Part 5
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Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.
I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
In this passage, I see theme of RESILIENCE with 4 keys:
1) Rejoice
2) Refocus (focus again; change emphasis or direction)
3) Remain
4) Receive
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I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 (AMP)
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who minfuses inner strength into me; I am nself-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
Two conditional things in this passage that we receive from God:
Peace
Strength
We receive Peace when we:
1. Take our needs to God in Prayer
2. Do the things we already know to do.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
“God’s presence is unconditional. God’s favor is conditional.” - Elder John Gauthier
“God’s presence is unconditional. God’s favor is conditional.” - Elder John Gauthier
We receive Strength when we:
Practice contentment
Remain steadfast in blessings and difficulties
Today we will focus on Practicing Contentment
From: How To Be Content: 15 Tips To Find Contentment (find-a-therapist.com)
How to be Content With Your Life
To recap, here are some tips to become a more contented person:
Do what you love
Express gratitude (keeping a gratitude diary or journal can help)
Enjoy the simple things
Serve others
Accept yourself
Be positive
Be your own best friend (don’t be afraid of alone time!)
Meditate
Set goals
Don’t compare achievements
Forgive yourself [realize that you are forgiven]
Choose to be content
Live in the present
Accept things you can’t change
Focus on the essentials
Practicing Contentment begins with thankfulness.
Practicing Contentment begins with thankfulness.
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
Psalm 100:4 (AMP)
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Contentment increases when we remain aware that God is our source.
Contentment increases when we remain aware that God is our source.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Contentment decreases when we seek the accumulation of things or the approval of others.
Contentment decreases when we seek the accumulation of things or the approval of others.
1 I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure”; but surely, this also was vanity.
2 I said of laughter—“Madness!”; and of mirth, “What does it accomplish?”
3 I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives.
4 I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards.
5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove.
7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.
8 I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of the provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.
9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me.
10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; And this was my reward from all my labor.
11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.
Our Highest Contentment as believers is found in the Giver rather than the Gifts.
Our Highest Contentment as believers is found in the Giver rather than the Gifts.
“Seek God’s Presence, Not His Presents” - Joyce Meyer
“Seek God’s Presence, Not His Presents” - Joyce Meyer
One of the greatest lessons I ever learned is that we should always seek God for who He is and not merely for what He can do for us.
As a young Christian, I constantly asked God to give me worldly goods and do things for me or bless me in certain ways. I wanted my ministry to be large and successful, and at the time I was teaching a small home Bible study group. I wanted my husband, Dave, to change and be more like I was. I wanted my children to be little angels who always pleased me in all their ways.
I wanted and wanted and wanted—and was frustrated and discontent most of the time. I loved the Lord, but not fully as He desired for me to love Him. In my life, a time came when God revealed to me that I was unhappy because I was seeking the wrong things. My eyes were suddenly opened to the discontentment I felt.
I realized that even though I spent time in prayer regularly, most of my prayers were selfish and materialistic. This was a turning point in my walk with God, and my joy increased greatly when I finally focused on praying for the things for which God wanted me to pray.
In Psalm 27, David desired “one thing.” All he sought was to dwell in God’s presence and see His beauty “all the days” of his life (Psalm 27:4 ESV). One thing! Truly, there is only one thing that can keep us content, which is to keep God first in all we do, all the time. If and when we put Him first, all the other aspects of our lives work themselves out.
I recall God challenging me not to ask Him for anything other than more of Himself until He released me to do so. Each time I started to ask for a “thing,” the words stuck in my throat and I would say, “Never mind, Lord, I just need more of You.” This lasted for about six months. By then, my heart had been changed drastically, and I might add that God has provided for me in amazing ways because I sought His presence, not just His presents.
James 4:2 says that we have not because we ask not, so it is certainly good to ask God for anything we want or need, but more frequently we should ask for more of Him. Praise should outweigh petition, and our prayers should be filled with thanksgiving.
Matthew 6:33 says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (NIV). When you genuinely seek God for who He is and focus on developing your relationship with Him, He will fill your life with incredible joy…and all of the other “things” will come along with it.
Adapted from the book The Power of Thank You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright 2022 by Joyce Meyer. Published by Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Pray: “Lord, You are the most important thing in my life. Everything else comes second, and under You, everything falls into its proper place. Help me to know You more. Please teach me to seek after You in all that I do, so that I can be filled constantly with Your peace and joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.