The Secret of a Thankful Heart

Philippians 4:12-13

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. 

We complain a lot.  At least I do.  We complain because we have too much to do.  We complain because there is nothing to do.  We complain because our kids won’t listen to us.  They complain because we won’t listen to them.  We complain about our jobs – They expect too much.  They pay too little.  We complain about having to cook every night.  Then at the restaurant we complain that the service is too slow.  We complain about the weather – it’s too cold.  It’s too hot.  It’s too wet.  It’s too dry.    We complain because we want a new cell phone. Then we complain because the battery doesn’t last.  At school College students complain about missing their families. At home , they complain about their families.

The common denominator in all these complaints is you and me.  Could it be that the problem is not entirely with the things we complain about?  Could it be that at least part of the problem is with you and me?  The story is told of two little teardrops floating down the river of life.  One teardrop asked the other, “Who are you?”  “I am teardrop from a girl who loved a man and lost him.  But who are you?”  The first teardrop answered, “I am a teardrop from the girl who got him.”  The problem is not always what we have or don’t have.  The problem is that we are not content with what we have. 

There is a hole in our lives we are struggling to fill.  People try all sorts of things to fill that hole.  Some of us revolve our whole lives around our spouse, or our kids, or some other friend.   That’s way too much pressure.  All those relationships will fail us.    Some fill that by making ‘internet friends.”  But most of those relationships are fake. Some try to fill the hole with things -  money, the latest gadgets, the nicest clothes – yet enough always seems to be more than what we have right now.   Or we may seek to move away from our problems – moving away to college, to a new house, to a new job, a new marriage, or even a new church - yet our problems seem to follow us.  None of these things can fill the hole because this hole is a God shaped hole. 

“Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee, O Lord.”  That’s Paul’s point.   I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  The secret of a content and thankful heart is not what you have or don’t have.  The secret is who has you, who holds and watches over you.  The secret is to know and believe in Jesus Christ.  He alone is able to fill that hole.  After all He along took the emptiness of our sinful lives into Himself on the cross.  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by Himself becoming a curse for us.  There he let the emptiness of our lives drain Him of life.  Then on the third day Jesus filled that emptiness new life. 

Now He comes to fill your life and mine with His love.  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.  He invites us, Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.  He works through the word and sacrament to give your life a full and complete relationship with Him.  He gives you what you will never find in any human relationship, not even your marriage. Baptized into Christ you are fully accepted, fully forgiven, adopted into His family. I have called you by name, He says to you, “You are mine.”  In Jesus God gives you the bread that truly satisfies.  “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  The treasures of this world are wonderful but always temporary.  Moth and rust destroy them.  Thieves break in and steal.  But the treasures of God in Christ – forgiveness, love, a place in the family of God, an eternal purpose for you lives – to live for Him who died for you – an eternal home in heaven – In Christ, these are yours forever! 

When God has you in Christ you are like the evergreen.  An evergreen never loses its color no matter how the weather changes.  It is green in the heat of summer as well as the cold of winter.  So also, in Christ our lives are content and thankful during the heat of a high-pressure week or when relaxing on vacation… when feeling great or when sick in bed… on the day of our wedding… or the day of a funeral.  Jesus is the secret of a thankful heart. In Christ no matter what we have or don’t have, God has us! Paul is right, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.   Amen!