The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
What is the secret to having contentment? Is it having everything that I want, or even everything that I need? Is it in having enough to live comfortably without worry, or , at least, enough to live at least as comfortably as those around me? Is it about "having" at all?
In Psalm 16 David reveals the secret to contentment. It's not about "having" anything, but about trusting the One who has everything.
God is the creator of everything. He is the source of all good, and in Him is the power to supply everything we need. Indeed, everything that we are, and everything that we have, and everything that we could ever need comes by Him. Whether we "have" or whether we "have not" has no bearing on our contentment when we put our trust in the One from whom all things come. As Paul puts it in his letter the the Phillipians:
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. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
(Philippians 4:11-13 ESV)
Paul says that the secret to contentment is exaclty what David says in Psalms. It is in trusting in the One who strentgthens us. And knowing that in whatever circumstance. that He is taking care of us and will provide for us.
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