The Secret of Contentment

The Secret of Contentment | Daily Devotional | Zig Ziglar

"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". Philippians 4:11-12

Many of us have some mixed-up ideas about contentment. We think that if we can ever have this good thing, our life will be better. If we can avoid that bad thing, then we’ll be really happy.

If we thought about it more than a nanosecond, though, we’d realize that we know plenty of people who have this or who have successfully avoided that but still aren’t any happier than we are. There must be a secret we haven’t discovered yet.

There is. Somewhere along the way, Paul learned the secret of contentment. He realized that possessions, fame, beauty, and other earthly things can be pleasant for a while, but they can never produce genuine contentment. That comes from the inside.

We experience true contentment when external things lose their grip on our hearts and don’t matter much anymore. Some of us get bent out of shape when we realize our favorite shirt is still at the cleaners or when we can’t find the perfect pair of shoes.

Paul’s well of contentment was so deep that he could enjoy life with or without the most basic needs. He was content being full or going hungry, having many possessions or little to speak of, living a life of ease or suffering at the hands of evil men.

A poster in a college professor’s office reads, “Happiness isn’t having what you want; it’s wanting what you have.” Jealousy, envy, and greed suck the life—and any sense of contentment—out of us. Replace those joy killers with gratitude for what you have, and listen to your heart sing!

What does this statement mean to you: “Happiness isn’t having what you want; it’s wanting what you have”?

What are some steps you need to take to learn the secret of contentment?

“The only ultimate disaster that can befall us is to feel ourselves at home on this earth.”— Malcolm Muggeridge

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