Contentment

It is so challenging to be content and rest in the season of life the Lord has me in. It seems—regardless of my circumstances—that I am always longing for another season of life. Perhaps you can relate.

Discontentment robs me of all joy. In focusing on the blessings I do not have I ultimately fail to appreciate the blessings I do have. Discontentment, moreover, reveals where I am finding my joy.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
-Hebrews 13:5

Circumstances vary and change. Life inevitably lets us down. But Jesus never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never will leave or forsake us.

True contentment is found in the unchanging Christ, and true contentment is learned. The Apostle Paul says: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13). The secret to which he refers is an abiding relationship with Christ. The nonbeliever depends on the things of the world for joy, but the Christian must learn to find his or her joy in the Lord.The Christian must learn to fix his or her eyes not on temporary circumstances but upward on Jesus—moment by moment and day by day.

May we find enduring contentment as we fix our eyes on Christ, the true treasure.