section 1
Contentment is a gift from God ecclesiastes 5:19 , but we only experience that gift if we welcome it into our lives by pursuing satisfaction in God’s allotment to each of us ecclesiastes 5:18 . We look for an excess of creature comforts and fulfillment of selfish-ambitions as our lot, but really our given lot is food/clothing i timothy 6:8 and then the greatest of fare isaiah 1:19 isaiah 55:1-2, 6 john 6:55 : kinship with God psalm 16:2 and others psalm 16:3 . Its when we embrace this lot by pursuing God through loving others matthew 6:33 matthew 22:37-40 galatians 5:14 that we enjoy peace and joy in our given lot psalm 16:5-6 . For seeking more than this actually diminishes the enjoyment of our lot and only adds needless sorrow psalm 16:4 i corinthians 11:31 .
Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.
This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.
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"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
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Jesus replied: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
LORD, You alone are my portion and my cup; You make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.
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section 2
So, as a general rule of thumb we should remain in our given lot without seeking to change our circumstances i corinthians 7:17 , making the best of it jeremiah 29:7 ephesians 5:16 i thessalonians 4:1 . We are given our assignment accordingly to our ability matthew 25:15 ii corinthians 8:12 , faith romans 12:3 , need ii corinthians 8:15 philippians 4:19 exodus 16:18 ii corinthians 12:9 , and needs of others ii corinthians 4:10, 15 philippians 1:24 colossians 1:24 esther 4:14 i corinthians 12:7 .
"Stay the course.", should be our primary response to any desire for change as perseverance is the window by which God’s glory is experienced job 17:9 john 8:31-32 mark 4:16-17 . Faithfulness is a virtue that God rewards matthew 24:45-47 proverbs 20:6 matthew 25:21 . And we are responsible to God to obey in our lot no matter what i corinthians 7:24 galatians 6:5 i corinthians 3:5 i corinthians 12:11 .
Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
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Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
as it is written: "The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little."
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And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
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Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church...
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
Yet the righteous holds to his way, and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
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To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.
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His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
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section 3
But even within accepting one’s lot from God, He at times gives reasons to make an effort in changing current circumstances i corinthians 7:20-21 genesis 12:1 . He makes up our lot daily psalm 118:24 . It is to us to live therein. So, in looking at accepting our lot and yet perhaps at times making even a mundane effort to augment our lot, what are Biblical protocols to that? First and foremost we should have good reason, a cause to make the effort for circumstantial change ezekiel 14:23 . If there isn’t a valid, Biblical reason proverbs 16:3 for seeking a change to our current circumstances beyond our own desire ecclesiastes 10:17 we should be hesitant to pursue such a course as that is likely faithlessness of some sort romans 14:5, 23 proverbs 16:2 . One might want to eat out of boredom, lust, enjoyment, need, and probably a mixture there in, but if we eat with no regard to God then satisfying that "hunger" is faithless to God i corinthians 10:31 .
Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
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And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it," says the Lord GOD.
Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
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section 4
Each cause should be understood as God’s leading us to follow Him revelation 14:4 , so each cause should have Biblical reason to it. Such as, if your current lot has developed into an unnecessary stumbling block mark 9:43-47 , you may need to seek a change. Though one actually stumbles over their own heart’s desires matthew 15:17-20 james 1:14 , there are many situations, relationships, patterns of life, etc. that may need to be changed or done away with according to God’s instruction ii corinthians 6:17 i corinthians 15:33 . But beware, just because we stumble is not on its own a cause for changing our lot matthew 18:7 james 3:2 i corinthians 7:12-13 ; make sure you are still walking in the instruction of the Lord and not simply seeking to ease your own struggle romans 2:8 or trying to control beyond your responsibility i corinthians 7:15 .
Like trying to change the temperature in a room because it"makes you" grumpy. What if the HVAC is down and you can’t change the temperature? The response of the heart is more important to address than simply outward circumstances, and often perseverance in the stumbling is actually beneficial proverbs 27:17 .
These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.
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If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell...
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.
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Therefore, "Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."
"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
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To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.
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section 5
Another cause to consider is that there are times we make an effort to change our current circumstances because we have a legitimate concern for another. This is carrying out our responsibilities within our lot but can require a lot of personal change and interruptions of personal aspirations ii corinthians 2:12-13 . While at other times we may change our current course or not because of the God-given opportunity before us i corinthians 16:12 nehemiah 6:3 . Either way, if what we are doing is prompted from faith to do good for others ii thessalonians 1:11 we know Christ leads us on in triumph ii corinthians 2:14 . We need to make decisions to bless others, not necessarily bless ourselves.
When I came to Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
But concerning Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity.
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And I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?"
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.
But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.
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section 6
God makes His leading clear philippians 3:15-16 ii timothy 2:7 as we grow up in our salvation hebrews 5:13-14 to come to understand more and more what is best, given our current lot philippians 1:9-10 . God does not leave us to fend for ourselves in the dark isaiah 50:10 , but rather instructs us to persevere in doing "the next right thing", trusting God to make each next step clear as it comes proverbs 3:5-6 psalm 85:13 proverbs 16:9 psalm 37:23 . The end result is secure philippians 1:6 , so we need only respond to His grace now in each step to find our way there ii corinthians 6:1-2 john 14:5-21 . His guidance is not calling us to apathy, but rather to the surrender of obedience i corinthians 7:19 , as despondency is not faithfulness but rather a denial of God’s instructions and warnings jeremiah 18:7-12 .
All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the Word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
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And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ...
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
And I am sure of this, that He Who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
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Working together with Him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, Who is doing His work.
"If you love Me, keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show Myself to them."
Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.
At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it. However, if that nation about which I have made the announcement turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it. At another time I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it. However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to Me, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.
So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look, I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.’ But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ "
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section 7
But what if one just desires a change because of the unpleasantness of the current lot, boredom, better pay, more enjoyment, nicer weather, easier paths, etc.? What do we do when it comes down to simple desire? Can we not change our lot without cause? Or is it the joke- "There is cause; it’s beCAUSE I want to." God is not a cosmic killjoy, and He is not wanting us to be needlessly masochistic in our service.
Still, the deception we fall for is that a change of lot would be a change of experience, a change of heart. As if a new job, church, house, scene, etc. will finally bring satisfaction. The problem is that no matter what we change outwardly we will still have to eventually contend with the problem that cannot be outrun- the inward.
So, then we hesitate to change our lot outwardly for fear of our fantasies disappointing. Let’s dispel that. Fantasies always disappoint.
The real problem is that whatever one changes beside one’s own heart is not really changing anything. The poorest person can become the wealthiest person and still be just as miserable or even less satisfied. It is the heart, not the circumstances.
So, when we are looking at our lot, changing things and contentment, we should not view these instructions as restrictions but rather as enlighteners to address our inward need that produces contentment i corinthians 7:35 and help to keep us from setting our hearts on lesser things, which is always troublesome i corinthians 7:28 i corinthians 10:6 .
So, even if an effort for change is just coming from desire, we should submit that course to the Lord psalm 37:5-6 through entrusting our lot to Him by a commitment to doing good for others psalm 37:3 i corinthians 7:36 through carrying out His commands i corinthians 7:39 ii john 6 no matter the outcome as we seek that at all times in all ways to love God and thereby have our very desires shaped by His Spirit psalm 37:4 .
For as we catch on, we will come to realize that our lot can never be fundamentally changed, for our eternal lot IS God and those He has given us john 6:39 luke 16:9 i corinthians 3:9-10, 14 i thessalonians 2:19-20 psalm 16:2-3, 5-6, 11 . And so, contentment will need to be developed in that lot no matter what one manages to change in their circumstances.
This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.
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If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin.
A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
And this is the will of Him Who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
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Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing." I say of the holy people who are in the land, "They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight."
LORD, You alone are my portion and my cup; You make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
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Scripture quotations taken from one or more of the following versions as noted:
ESV = The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
NIV = The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NLT = The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
NASB = NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), Copyright (C) 1960,1962,1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Used by Permission HCSB ©1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 Holman Bible Publishers. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
NKJV = New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.