True Contentment in Christ

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11).

Paul, denied of every comfort, wrote the above words in his dungeon.

A story is told of a king who went into his garden one morning, and found everything withered and dying. He asked the oak that stood near the gate what the trouble was. He found it was sick of life and determined to die because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine. The pine was all out of heart because it could not bear grapes, like the vine. The vine was going to throw its life away because it could not stand erect and have as fine fruit as the peach tree. The geranium was fretting because it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac.

And so on all through the garden. Coming to a heart's-ease, he found its bright face lifted as cheery as ever. "Well, heart's-ease, I'm glad, amidst all this discouragement, to find one brave little flower. You do not seem to be the least disheartened." "No, I am not of much account, but I thought that if you wanted an oak, or a pine, or a peach tree, or a lilac, you would have planted one; but as I knew you wanted a heart's-ease, I am determined to be the best little heart's-ease that I can."

Others may do a greater work,
But you have your part to do;
And no one in all God's heritage
Can do it so well as you.

They who are God's without reserve, are in every state content; for they will only what He wills, and desire to do for Him whatever He desires them to do; they strip themselves of everything, and in this nakedness find all things restored an hundredfold. ~ Unknown

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I truly enjoy sharing my daily devotions with you. It allows me to pass on great insight into this ethereal journey we call Christianity. One of the greatest pitfalls for the believer is the perspective through which they engage life. Some take a defeatist mindset (we will discuss that a little bit later in the day), while others take a comparative mindset. This is what this devotional topic is about. When we make the mistake of comparing ourselves to one another, it is easy for us to become disenfranchised and frustrated. We must learn that our design is unique to us and if God has designed and given us our destiny, that is what we should be content with and striving toward.

Dr. Rick Wallace

Please do not postulate that I am promoting a complacent state-of-mind. What I am saying is that the person that you are comparing yourself to is not designed to do what God designed you to do. If you are unhappy with your progress, you must first stop measuring yourself against others and start measuring yourself against your own design and purpose. You were put here on earth with a purpose and a destiny in mind. Your design and purpose is not mine. As long as I focus on you and what you are doing, I will never become what I was designed to become. 

Focus on your destiny and walk boldly in it. Commit to being all that God has designed you to be and watch him do awesome and wonderful things through you. You were uniquely designed by God -- fearfully and wonderfully made. Stop attempting to live outside of your design and stop comparing yourself to others. Cherish your uniqueness and execute its power in totality. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace 

Additional Resources by Dr. Rick Wallace 

Books

1. The Invisible Father: Reversing the Curse of a Fatherless Generation

2. Renewing Your Mind: The Dynamics of Christian Transformation

3. Elevation through Revelation

4. When Your House is Not a Home

5. The Power of Healing Affirmations

Blogs

1. 100 Men of Purpose

2. Master Fitness 21