What Is Enough to Make You Content?

As we begin this Thanksgiving week, the question we consider is, “What is enough to make you content?” Have you considered this question recently? What is enough? What is the magical equation that will put everything in place? Correct balance? Enough stuff? Right health? Or, for you, what is it?

As we walk in the Spirit, gratitude should follow.

When the Apostle Paul described walking in the Spirit, he explained that there would be four major results in the daily life of every believer. He explained:

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:15-21, emphasis added)

Notice the connection between our walk in the Spirit and gratitude or contentment.

The command is to be filled with the Spirit, which is part of fulfilling the command to walk circumspectly. To be filled with the Spirit means that you live with a God-consciousness. In Colossians, Paul describes it as, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col 3:16).

To be filled with the Spirit means that we live every moment of the day in reflection of God, His plan, His will, and what honors Him.

How does gratitude follow?

As we walk in the Spirit (which is a command), there are four primary results. Notice that Paul uses five participles to describe those four results.

First, being filled with the Spirit or walking in the Spirit impacts how you interact with others. Paul describes it as speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. In other words, the song in our heart impacts the way we speak to and about others.

Second, being filled with the Spirit or walking in the Spirit impacts our own hearts. Paul continues, “making melody in your heart to the Lord.” The making melody in our hearts to the Lord is what gets reflected in our words to each other. As Jesus taught, the abundance of our own heart is reflected in our words with each other.

Third, being filled with the Spirit or walking in the Spirit impacts our attitude toward God. Paul describes it, “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” As we walk in the Spirit, our heart turns to God in gratitude. This kind of gratitude is contentment.

Fourth, being filled with the Spirit or walking in the Spirit impacts our relationships with each other. Paul explains, “submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Therefore, we submit to one another out of respect for God as we walk in the Spirit too.

What if you are not content or grateful?

Let’s be honest. There are moments in every person’s life when gratitude is allusive. We struggle to be content only to find that we are struggling again. In these moments, we need to recognize that the issue is not having what we want or being where we want or not getting what we want, or whatever it is that has our hearts captured in this moment. Instead, the issue goes deeper. When we are not content, we also are not walking in the Spirit or filled with the Spirit.

The first step toward contentment is to walk in the Spirit. What you will find is this – gratitude and contentment follow walking in the Spirit. If your mind and heart are focused on God – that is, honoring Him, being grateful for His love, the cross, mercy, grace, salvation, the Spirit, the body of Christ, the Word of God, etc., – then you will find yourself more and more content. Your gratitude will grow as a result of your walk in the Spirit.

This week of Thanksgiving, let’s all try to start here.