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Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Philippians 4:11–12, ESV

Contentment brings a great freedom for those who live within it. It is difficult because we often allow our feelings to be swayed by how we are living. Anyone who has gone through periods of financial uncertainty can relate, but what Paul is speaking of is how placing our hope and our faith in the reality that God will provide for our needs and to find satisfaction in everything provided is where we can find freedom. It wasn’t that Paul didn’t suffer. Paul was not painting a rosy picture of how great things were for him. He speaks of knowing hunger. He speaks of being looked down upon and treated as if he were worthless. We know Paul faced imprisonment and beatings. What he is calling us to is to keep our focus on the important thing, our Lord Jesus Christ. The more our lives are centered in our Lord and His service, the less the things of this world will have a hold on us. The Gospel is not centered on worldly things, but in the eternal hope given to us in Jesus Christ and this is where we find our peace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.