My wants are unlimited. If I were granted three wishes, I would use one of them to ask for more wishes. Mostly I want non-material things--peace, health, safety--for myself and my loved ones. I want my son to have a good life. I want my husband to be safe and healthy. I want my friends to be free from all forms of suffering. Since my wants continue to grow, I always feel needy. Yet, I have observed people all around me who are truly needy and still seem at peace.
Can we find peace in the midst of chaos? Can we find satisfaction when our desires are unmet? Can we feel full when we are actually empty? For example, is it humanly possible to feel contentment when your spouse is suffering due to a terminal illness, or your son has a severe disability, or your home is being foreclosed because you’ve been unemployed for a year?
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:11-13 NLT)
The secret to contentment is not in having everything you want, but in learning how to live with whatever you have. And this is not a skill we acquire naturally. The lessons of contentment can only be mastered through supernatural strength and wisdom.
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