More Secrets to a Grateful Heart

Suffering is having what you do not want, and wanting what you do not have. However, suffering is minimized when we equalize our desires to fit our circumstances. Subtract our wants, and we will be closer to contentment. Paul was an expert at this arithmetic. He was glad his friends were sending him gifts: “I rejoice greatly,” he says, then quickly adds, “I am not saying this because I am in need....” (Phil. 4:10–12). Not in need? He was in a jail!

But Paul assures his friends, “I am amply supplied... I am not looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account...” (Phil. 4:17–18). Paul minimized his desires to fit his circumstances in jail. By subtracting his wants, he was able to increase his joy—his joy over supplying the needs of others. Paul wasn’t living in denial; he simply adjusted his longings in light of Christ’s sufficiency. Jesus was enough whether Paul was “well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (see Phil. 4:12).

The world will try to multiply its desires, including health, money, beauty, and power. You will open the way for gratitude when you subdue your heart to match your circumstances.

Christians may not be able to rule their life situations, but they can rule their hearts: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower,” says James 1:9–10.

Do your circumstances keep you longing for more?

How might you subdue your heart’s desires to better match your situation?

©BalazsT

Here lies the bottom and root of all contentment: When there is an evenness and proportion between our hearts and our circumstances.

— Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

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