The word content, as an adjective, means to be in a state of peaceful happiness. To be perfectly honest, I read that and laughed out loud. The “peaceful” part is what brought the chuckle, because peaceful seems like such a distant concept for my life right now. Beyond the shrieks and shrills of my loud children, I live a life of instability, financial insecurity, and constant juggling of work-life balance. Peaceful is not a word I would use to describe my life. And yet, that is the definition of the word. And it’s also something that God’s Word calls us to be.
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
These verses were penned by the Apostle Paul, who was imprisoned, beaten, mocked, butted heads with other Christ-followers in ministry, wasn’t rich, moved around a lot, and was called to confront others who were making bad choices in the church. According to him, he “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” despite it all. Thankfully, he didn’t keep it to himself. He tells us the secret:
We can do all THIS through him who gives us strength.
“This” means life. We can do life through him who gives us strength. Life is hard. There are so many things we want that we think will make us peacefully happy. More money, financial security, work stability, more kids, to stop moving around and put down roots, for our kids to stop doing [insert annoying, inconvenient thing here], to have more friends, get the degree, the next big promotion, for our kids to just get to the next stage of life already.
The list goes on and on. And “the list” gets passed along to our children. They see that we aren’t content with what God has given us and they model our behavior and attitude. Are you a worrier? Your kids will be too. Are you a complainer? Listen to their words and you’ll likely here the same. Momma, you are one of, if not THE biggest influence in their life. We must be obedient to Christ and be moms that are content in every situation. Both to glorify God and to guide our children to model Christ.
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Our mom life brings out our weakness (big time), brings insults from others, brings hardships we never thought we’d face, persecution for not “doing it right,” and difficulties in almost every area of life. Life is messy and exhausting. But God’s grace is pure and simple. It is sufficient for us and his power is made perfect in our weakness. So let’s embrace it!
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Bow your head and confess your discontent to God. Are you unhappy with your home? Your family income? Your church? Your kids’ development? Whatever it is, confess it and lean on God’s grace to bring contentment. Use the verses from this devotional to pray over your circumstances. These are also great verses to memorize so you have the reminder in your heart wherever you go.
Make an effort to make “godliness with contentment” a part of your legacy.
Read More Devotionals About Leaving Your Mom Legacy
This is a devotional except from Leaving Your Mom Legacy: A 30-Day Devotional On Reflecting Christ In Motherhood, available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. Order yours today!
For more one day devotionals from Messy Tired Love, click here. To learn more about these devotionals for Christian moms, click here.
Welcome to Messy Tired Love! The devotionals you'll find here aim to connect your everyday mom moments to the truth of the gospel. I hold nothing back as I share my story that's filled with lots of messy, tired, but oh-so-filled-with-love moments. I have three little blessings, that together with God's Word are the inspiration for these devotionals. I hope you will be encouraged, and maybe even get a good laugh, while exploring these devotionals. Much love!
Contentment as a parent is hard. This post was a great reminder
It’s so hard. Thanks, Candice!
Great post!! I’ve learned that when we are content with what we have, God will give us the desires of our hearts!!!
Thanks, Lucretia!
Wow! Guilty! Thank you for sharing these reminders. It’s odd how I’ve read over those scriptures so many times and haven’t actually applied them to mommyhood. I’m actually going to take down these scriptures and put them in places I can be constantly reminded of God’s sufficiency!
So many verses in the Bible can be directly applicable to being moms, but so easy to overlook – myself included! I’m glad you enjoyed the devotional!
So glad I found you over at Grace Girls! I love your blog home here. Very uplifting. I am learning to live contented as well. His peace is one that passes understanding for sure.
Thanks for your support, Meghan! <3
I needed this reminder. 1 Tim 6:6 is convicting. Sometimes it is easy for me to fall into resentment and bitterness as I look around (my family) and feel like I am the only one practicing “godliness.” I need to practice contentment with where God has me, and the people he has placed in my life, and trust Him to work in His timing. He will give me the grace I need to be at peace and full of joy.
Agreed – it’s so convicting. Thanks for reading, Stephanie!
Thank you for the article. I think we as moms need to be less harsh on ourselves and remember that God extends us grace. We can afford to give ourselves some grace too.
Giving ourselves Grace can be so hard, can’t it? Thanks for reading, Amanda!
It’s always good to be reminded of where our satisfaction lies. Ultimately, Jesus is the Source of our life, joy and peace. As we seek His kingdom, everything is added icing on the cake. And HE is enough. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by, Alicia! <3
My kids are much older now but the same is true. We still need to extend grace to ourselves.
Yes, God’s grace needs to be enough in every life situation. Thanks for reading, Sheila!
Godliness with contentment… that is the ultimate! You are so right, Kristina, will all this. And I would definitely emphasis on the idea that becoming a parent brings out our weaknesses. I constantly tell people that my children are the iron in my life. Making those areas of weakness become stronger and better.
I am at point in my life where everything feels like a mess but I am learning to trust in God to fix these situations. I am content in my pain because I will receive peace soon. God bless you for this.
I’m so glad that you were encouraged by this, Jackie. You aren’t alone!