When following Christ, contentment is a common word that comes up quite often in the faith. The question is, do you know what that is and do you know what it means to be content?
Before my walk with Christ, I was fully running away from being content and I had no idea. I was constantly running after the things of the world to fulfill my selfish desires rather than finding it in Christ. For years this lifestyle beat me down black and blue, but Christ saved me from discontentment. However, that doesn’t mean it took time to finally get there.
In order to understand this better let's define what contentment is-
Contentment (noun):
Being satisfied and grateful with what the Lord has given no matter if the circumstances are exactly what you desire and hope for or the complete opposite. You find joy and peace being part of God’s plan and the purpose that you serve.
Scripture references: Philippians 4:11-12, Proverbs 3:5-6
In today’s world, instant gratification and chasing quick results are a very normal thing. Everyone is looking for those likes on social media, who looks at their stories, what their friends and acquaintances think, making their five and 10 year plans, but these fleeting things are not what store up your treasures in eternal life (Matthew 6:19-21).
Specifically with 20-somethings, this is a widespread spiritual issue, but how do we become self aware of it? It can come in big or small packages, but here are some average examples we all face or have faced at some point:
In the little things
“How do I look?”
“How does that group of acquaintances/strangers perceive me?”
School/Career
“Why/what are you studying and what does it have to do with your life post grad?”
“Have you found a job yet?”
“Why haven’t I gotten promoted yet?”
“How successful am I?”
Friendships
“Why do they spend more time with them than me?”
“Why did I get left out in the plans?”
“What is so great about them that they are that much closer than I am with them?”
“Why am I not friends with this person?”
Dating Relationships
“Why has no one asked me out/accepted a date with me?”
“Why do I not have a boyfriend/girlfriend?”
“When are you getting engaged?”
People of the world will say that these are completely normal things to constantly have on your mind. You will be commended for your “preparedness” and even be encouraged to move at a million miles an hour in all these categories.
However, that isn’t what God says.
All of these initial thoughts and questions can snowball into discontentment in Christ because your personal and worldly expectations are not being met in a “timely manner” by The Creator.
It can dig you into a deep hole and even lead you to sin:
Idolatry (Exodus 20:3-5)
Straying from the Lord, isolation (Proverbs 18:1)
Anxiety (Isaiah 35:4)
Depression (Isaiah 40:30-31)
Bitterness (Ephesians 4:31-32)
Hardened heart (John 12:40)
Greed and envy (Proverbs 14:30)
The big and difficult question that sparks from this is something I have thought to myself, why trust in Him? Why should I trust in something I cannot see, hear, touch? What is in His plan that is so much better than mine?
All of these questions are meaty but are reasonable, especially for newer believers. But the answer is within His perfect words.
Jeremiah 29:11-14 [ESV]
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
Scripture also highlights many characteristics of God, and these reflect on why we should trust in Him.
He will always be with you (Deuteronomy 31:6)
He is all knowing (Proverbs 15:3, Romans 11:33-36)
He will fight for you (Exodus 14:14)
He is all powerful (Jeremiah 32:17)
He is worthy (Revelation 4:11)
He is to be TRUSTED (Psalm 56)
All these traits that God displays in our daily lives show and prove to us that He is sufficient. He is the one true living God and provides us with all that we need and what is good for us.
After reading this, it is important to reflect on where in your life you are displaying discontentment. Meditate on these ideas and scripture to answer these questions:
Where in my life am I lacking contentment and why?
How has my lack of contentment dwindled in how I spend time with the Lord?
What can I surrender to the Lord so I may be content in my circumstances?
What steps should I take to hold fast in my faith in seasons of waiting/if the Lord doesn’t give me what I ask for?
Comments