Need for Contentment

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content…I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (rf. Php. 4:11, 13 ESV)

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

 (rf. I Tim. 6:6-8 ESV)

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (rf. Heb. 13:5 ESV)

            Contentment. I confess that, especially in my formative years and in my genetic makeup, this was a concept I found particularly hard to grasp, much less to put into action. You see, I grew up in a household that moved around and outside the state of Georgia eight times between my birth and my entrance into 4^th grade due to the demands of my father’s job with the Georgia Power Company and his time in the U.S. Air Force. Added to this was my mother’s penchant for changing things in the house on a regular basis, moving around bedrooms as well as making countless adjustments to the location of furniture and accessories. My growing up years were in one sense a constant flow of change.

            As I reached my adulthood, having the itch for change was something that was very difficult to overcome. If it wasn’t a pursuance of “better pastures”, it was surely having a great aversion of things remaining the same, of being stagnant or static. This powerful innate force of nature would reveal itself through banal things such as rearranging items around my office, relocating bookstore displays, etc. every month or so (for which I have as a constant reminder the scar from the back surgery that resulted from such an endeavor) to praying that the Lord would move us to another place of ministry because things didn’t measure up to my expectations in my present location. This need for change of circumstances and surroundings was a constant companion. 

            I would be a liar if I shared that this particular beast has totally been overcome and tamed within me. I still struggle with it. The longer things remain stable and unchanged, the stronger the “yelling” from that part of me grows.

            When I say the following, I assure you I mean it with all of my being. Only in the Lord by His grace and power am I able to daily keep this potent influence at bay and under subjection. He has been teaching me, slowly but surely, His truth about contentment. When I feel the urge to want more or to pursue a course of great change in my life, He reminds me that it was the Father’s will and plan that kept Him on the correct path, that, while all of His physical needs were being met by God, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has (or had) nowhere to lay his head” (rf. Matt. 8:20 ESV). Jesus was content to fulfill His mission for the Father without any thought of His daily provision. This should be my same ambition. This is the rightful definition of the contentment He desires for all of His people to practice.

            Change is and will always be a necessary part of life. The seasons of the year reveal themselves differently as time progresses forward, as do the seasons of life. Change should not be feared of itself when it comes but embraced along with the lessons accompanying it. Sometimes those within Christ’s Church are the very ones who have the hardest time with change, largely because we have not really accepted or believed in the sovereignty of God over our lives. However, He wants His people to be open to the changes that He brings, knowing that His change has with it our spiritual growth and the increase in our faith that we should always desire. 

            The balance that I have at present is that, if I am doing what I am supposed to in fulfillment of God’s will for my life and that of my family, then I should be content to continue in it until He should disclose a different path for me to follow. If I need to change the location of furniture or pictures to fulfill that inner “hankering” for a difference, that is fine. He doesn’t mind such variety in our lives. However, He wants us to trust in Him as Lord and to leave to Him the paths of this journey and the experiences along the way, being accepting of the change that comes implicitly with such. He desires for us to experience His peace while we release ourselves completely into His care. He has promised to take care of us as His people, assuming total control over our circumstances so that He can better mold and make us “into the image of His Son” (rf. Rom. 8:29 ESV). 

            May we seek and pray for this attitude of contentment for ourselves, having absolute trust in His provision, direction and sustenance as touching all of our needs.