Contentment Meter

WNBS Recap
February 21, 2007
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Can you tell what people are thinking or how they are feeling by their facial expressions? You can usually easily see anger, worry, confusion, disgust, excitement, surprise, sadness and boredom written all over someone's face. But, what about contentment? What does contentment look like, where does it come from, and how do we get there?

Last week Paul reminded us what our life focus should be: things that are far greater than personal accomplishments, namely visions and revelations of the Lord. Has your focus changed at all over the past week? What is your focus on today? What is going to have to happen to get your focus in the right place?

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:7 what got his focus in the right place:

"And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations; for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in teh flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me--to keep me from exalting myself!"

Paul was given a "thorn in the flesh", by Satan, and it kept him from being prideful. But, don't you think Satan would want Paul to have his focus in the wrong place (in a prideful place)? So, apparently, Paul sees how God can use what Satan wants to use to hinder Paul, to instead refocus him on what is better and greater. The result of this eternal higher focus is contentment.

2 Corithians 12:10:
"Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Chrsit's sake; for when I am weak then I am strong."

The American way of life is a daily lesson in discontentment. Biggie size, all you can eat buffets, 800 TV channels, bigger cars, bigger houses, bigger TV's, more technology, more money, prettier women, skinnier bodies and faster internet are just a few examples of the result of discontentment in America. And discontentment shows. How do you act when you are discontent? Depressed, angry, impulsive, tired, restless? Discontentment is not healthy, so we need something better: contentment. But, how do we get there?

Paul has already shown us the first step in verse 7: Recognize weakness in your life. This can be a physical ailment or sickness, a monetar desire, a spiritual struggle, or any number of things. Paul does not tell us what exaclty his thorn is, and maybe we don't really need to know what the thorn is. We all recognize where the thorns are in our life that make us uncomfortable and make us struggle sometimes. The fact that we don't know with what Paul was actually dealing with 100% certainty helps us to apply the wisdom of verses 7-10 to our lives and our situations.

In verse 8, Paul says that he talked to God about his thorn. That's something we should do, but we have to be prepared to accept God's answer. After 3 times talking to God about his thorn, God tells Paul, "No, I'm not going to take it away from you." Check out verse 9:

"And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient foryou, for power is perfected in weakness.'" How does Paul respond to that? "I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Chrsit may dwell in me." Paul accepts it! Why? Because he truly believes that Christ's grace and strenght are sufficient! That is step two towards contentment: Trusting in the sufficient grace of God.

Jesus also told Paul that "power is perfected in weakness". Who's power? Christ's power will work in people who recognize and cry out to God about their weaknesses, but only if that person is willing to trust in the sufficient grace of Christ for that situation. That is step three toward contentment: Allowing the Perfect Power of Christ to work in you.

Paul accepts the presence of his weakness, trusts that Christ's grace is sufficient, and recognizes the perfect power of Christ that goes beyond his own power to handle the thorn. Because of that, he says he is well content. And this is not the only time he speaks of contentment. Check out Philippians 4:11-13:

"Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I now how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumtance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all thing through Him who strengthens me."

There's the power of Christ at work in his life again!

So, we come back to focus. How do you know when your focus is right? When you are well content in Christ with WHATEVER circumstance you are in. And that brings one more question: Is Christ enough for you? When your focus is in the right place, then Christ will be enough!

Weakness-->Sufficient Grace-->Perfect Power-->Contentment