THE CONTENT PERSON

2 Kings 4:1-14 AMPC

Now the wife of a son of the prophets cried to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. But the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his slaves. 

[2] Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you [of sale value] in the house? She said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. 

[3] Then he said, Go around and borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels—and not a few. 

[4] And when you come in, shut the door upon you and your sons. Then pour out [the oil you have] into all those vessels, setting aside each one when it is full. 

[5] So she went from him and shut the door upon herself and her sons, who brought to her the vessels as she poured the oil. [6] When the vessels were all full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not a one left. Then the oil stopped multiplying. 

[7] Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.

 [8] One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a rich and influential woman lived, who insisted on his eating a meal. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he stopped there for a meal. 

[9] And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by continually. 

[10] Let us make a small chamber on the [housetop] and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then whenever he comes to us, he can go [up the outside stairs and rest] here. 

[11] One day he came and turned into the chamber and lay there. 

[12] And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him. 

[13] And he said to Gehazi, Say now to her, You have been most painstakingly and reverently concerned for us; what is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own people [they are sufficient]. 

[14] Later Elisha said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, She has no child and her husband is old.

Are you content with your life? Would people say you are a content person? That you are content with what you have?

Contentment according to weikipidia is the state of being satisfied with one’s current life situation, and the state of affairs in one’s life as they presently are. And if one is content, they have inner peace with their situation and how things in one’s life are situated.

Contentment is also the state of peaceful happiness and satisfaction found in a belief, i.e., God. But how can we be content in a world of turmoil, anxiety-inducing problems, and challenges?

We are a generation of “wanters”, “I want this, that and everything”. A never-ending circle of wanting things, even things we don’t need. Jesus knew we would face the kind of problems we face daily but still told us not to be anxious in Matthew 6:25-33.

Contentment is not the absence of worry, whether for us or the general conditions in life. How many of us are actually content with where we are, who we are and what we’re doing? We are people of worry, we worry about everything, and we wake up anxious and go to bed anxious.

Human nature tends toward discontentment, but the Bible teaches us that we are to be content with what we have in Hebrews 13:5-6 and we should trust God for more than only our financial needs, which most of us don’t because we can work and earn.

Contentment does not mean we cannot desire something or wish for a change in life’s circumstances, it just means that we have learned to be satisfied with what we have in the present.

If we need an example of a content person, our text introduces us to just such a person. She exhibited in verse thirteen that contentment is accepting yourself, your surroundings, past and future and being okay with it all.

The first step to fullness and contentment is recognising that we are empty.

Paul was one of the most persecuted leaders who went through horrendous levels of suffering yet, he said he had learnt to be content in Philippians 4:12-13. The secret to contentment according to Paul is the strength that can only come from God.

The key to value and worth is knowing who we are in Jesus. When we know that, there is nothing for us to do but stand in awe of God and give Him thanks and praise for what He has done for us in Christ. Like the poor widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7, the first step to contentment is to recognize we are empty.

 we are all empty vessels. None of us has anything of value except the power of God that resides in us. 

What do we have to offer to God? Nothing. God is not needy. He does not need you or me; He can do His work without us. We are not indispensable. 

But because of the value God assigned to us in Christ’s blood, we have more value than we can imagine and nothing in and of ourselves. In Christ, we are and have everything. But in the flesh, there is nothing of any value or worth, that will induce contentment. What is born of the flesh is flesh according to John 3:6, and it profits us nothing says John 6:63. 

When we learn that everything we are and have comes from God, we will begin to walk in contentment. 

The Shunammite woman’s generosity had Elisha asking how he could repay her many kindnesses but her response of "I dwell among my people,” tells us she had everything she needed, in other words, she was content!

Are you content? Contentment is in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER: Lord, God, thank you for offering me everything I desire, help me to be content in you and never to allow worry rob me of your blessings in Jesus’ name, amen.

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SHALOM