I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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.

(Philippians 4:11–12 NIV)

An old man went to the same diner every day and always ordered the soup of the day. After one meal, the manager asked how it was. The man replied, “It was good, but you could give a little more bread.”

The next day the manager gave him two slices — same reply. “It was good, but you could give a little more bread.”

Then he gave him eight slices — same reply.  Finally, desperate to please, the manager baked a six-foot loaf of bread, cut it in half, buttered the entire length of each half, and laid it next to his bowl of soup.  The man ate it all.

“How was your meal today, sir?” the manager asked. 

“It was good, as usual,” the man said, “but I see you are back to only two slices of bread!”

No matter how much some people receive, it never seems to be enough.  The more they get, the more they expect.  And, honestly, we often fall into that same trap.

The apostle Paul addressed this in Philippians 4:11-12: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances…whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (NIV)

Notice that Paul says he learned contentment. It didn’t come naturally.  Our natural instinct is always to want “just a little more bread.”  A little more money, more comfort, more health, more recognition.  But Paul reminds us that contentment isn’t about having more — it’s about trusting more.

True joy isn’t found in piling up more.  It’s found in trusting that God will always provide what we need, and by focusing on what we have rather than what we don’t have. 

Today, may we learn to see our daily bread — whatever its size — as exactly what our loving Father knew we needed.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to be content in you. When I’m tempted to grumble or compare, remind me of your provision. Help me to trust that what you have given me today is enough. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day