Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
–Philippians 3:7
How to develop a content heart.
First of all, regularly express gratitude to God. If you’re not content with your finances, your family, or your job, the best way to extinguish your dissatisfaction is with gratitude. You can’t be thanking God for what He has given you and cursing God for what He hasn’t given you at the same time. One of the best ways to develop a content heart is to thank God regularly.
Second, resist the oasis illusion. Picture a guy crawling across the desert. On the horizon, he sees palm trees and a beautiful spring. He thinks, If I can just make it there! But when he arrives, he finds that it was just a mirage. That’s the oasis illusion–the idea that when you arrive at a certain place, you will finally be satisfied. Sooner or later, we must realize the oasis is a mirage. The true joy of life is the trip. Paul said, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need” (Philippians 4:11–12).
Third, adopt a purpose bigger than yourself. There was a time in the apostle Paul’s life when he was chasing after advanced degrees and a higher place in the Pharisees’ hierarchy. But his encounter with the risen Jesus changed all that. In Philippians 3:7, he said, “Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” After Paul became a Christian, his life purpose changed. No longer was he self-focused; he was God-focused. Paul’s one passion was to share the gospel with as many people as possible. And that purpose gave him a new lens through which to view his circumstances.
What is your life purpose? What are you chasing? What are you trying to achieve? If the answer is prosperity, pleasure, or freedom from conflict, then any problems you run into will be roadblocks. But when your life is God-focused rather than self-focused, you’ll be able to see how God is using even negative circumstances to fulfill that grander purpose. That’s what it means to have a content heart. (jeffress)
