Satisfied or Content?

The Apostle Paul said he had learned that in whatever circumstance he found himself to be “content” (Phil. 4:11). He didn’t say “satisfied.” There is a difference. Had Paul been willing to accept all his surroundings, positive as well as negative, he might have used the word “satisfied”, meaning, “happy, gratified, pleased.” Makes me wonder how he would have reacted to today’s circumstances – satisfied or content? Or for that matter, the circumstances of any day. Are you satisfied with your circumstances? All of them? Since we are made for heaven, we will likely never be completely satisfied with earthly circumstances, but like Paul, we can and must learn to be “content” – the Greek word meaning, “independent of external circumstances.”

Join me in prayer this week for the following global concerns:
• I’ve just returned from Vancouver, Canada. Pray for the church starting efforts there and especially for a church building that is for sale. Funds are needed to purchase it for church use as well as for much needed volunteer housing. For further Vancouver information and prayer requests click on www.vancouverfocus.ca or www.prayvancouver.ca.
• Pray for continued use of the National Prayer Committee endorsed resource book on prayer, Giving Ourselves to Prayer. It is already being used in several seminaries and Bible colleges. For more information click on www.prayershop.org.
• Pray for new missionaries who began their orientation at the International Learning Center on October. 20.
• Pray for follow-up to the city-wide worship service held on October 26 in Kharkov, Poland celebrating “Zhatva,” a day of thanksgiving for the fall harvest.