Imagine being in prison and being content. The Apostle Paul knew all about suffering. In perhaps the greatest statement in all the Scriptures on contentment, Paul wrote about it from a Roman prison. For we read: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13).
As I was doing some research on contentment I came across a very wonderful quote by Brother Lawrence that really blessed me. He said: “The most important discovery of my whole life is that one can take a little rough cabin and transform it into a palace just by flooding it with God.”1
My friends when we flood our thoughts and actions with Jesus life becomes one exciting adventure where great peace, joy, and meaning saturate our hearts even when trials come our way. I believe that the secret to contentment in our Christian walk is understanding that life is training grounds for eternity, that trials and tribulations are often the tools used by the Lord to grow our faith, and that when we keep our minds on Jesus we can’t help but experience total contentment.
I pray that the following quotes will help you see that contentment is definitely possible no matter what your state in life is, and if you let Jesus flood your soul, get ready for the journey of a lifetime!2
“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” – C. H. Spurgeon
“Deep, contended joy comes from a place of complete security and confidence [in God] – even in the midst of trial.” – Chuck Swindoll
“I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking.” – George MacDonald
“Oh, the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth!” – Jim Elliot
“The remarkable thing is, we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.” – Chuck Swindoll
“Spread out your petition before God, and then say, ‘Thy will, not mine, be done.’ The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school is to let the Lord choose for me.” – D. L. Moody
“True contentment is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it.” – G. K. Chesterton
“The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“There’s a difference between knowing God and knowing about God. When you truly know God, you have energy to serve him, boldness to share him, and contentment in him.” – J. I. Packer
“A cheerful spirit is one of the most valuable gifts ever bestowed upon humanity by a kind Creator. It is the sweetest and most fragrant flower of the Spirit, that constantly sends out its beauty and fragrance, and blesses everything within its reach. It will sustain the soul in the darkest and most dreary places of this world. It will hold in check the demons of despair, and stifle the power of discouragement and hopelessness. It is the brightest star that ever cast its radiance over the darkened soul, and one that seldom sets in the gloom of morbid fancies and foreboding imaginations.” – James H. Aughey
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” – John Piper
“Consider Jesus. Know Jesus. Learn what kind of Person it is you say you trust and love and worship. Soak in the shadow of Jesus. Saturate your soul with the ways of Jesus. Watch Him. Listen to Him. Stand in awe of Him. Let Him overwhelm you with the way He is.” – John Piper
“Next to faith this is the highest art – to be content with the calling in which God has placed you.” – Martin Luther
“Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the good, and dwell as little as possible on the evil and the false.” – Richard Cecil
“Real contentment must come from within. You and I cannot change or control the world around us, but we can change and control the world within us.” – Warren Wiersbe
1 Inspirational Quotes by Brother Lawrence – page 2 (bibleportal.com)
2 All of these contentment quotes are from the website below:
True contentment is knowing Christ and that as believers, WE WIN!!!