Emotions

What does contentment mean to you? Without trying to think of the Webster's definition, attempt to envision a practical, living example. You might think of a friend or neighbor who does not possess much and is still happy with what he has, or maybe the older person in an assisted-living center who always has smiles for visitors.

If you have ever heard of the saying "content as a couple of cows," you might picture a peaceful, pasture scene with cows lazily munching their cud, without a care in the world. What do you think would happen, however, if those cows stopped grazing on their plot of grass and stared longingly over the fence to that proverbially greener grass?

Gustave Flaubert's classic French novel Madame Bovary is about a woman who is never happy with what she has, not even her doting husband. Always looking for greener pastures, she seeks relationships and material goods in an attempt to fill the inner void but only frustrates herself further. This woman misses all the truly good things in her life in an arrogant and almost pathological quest for satisfaction elsewhere.

Discontentment is the unsatisfied outlook that cries: "What I have is not enough. I need something more or different to make me feel happy and secure." Have you ever had the grumbles? Be honest now. On a day when nothing goes well, when you achieve nothing that you plan to, and all your dreams seem a million miles away—how do you feel on a day like this? If you give in to natural, human emotions, you drag home with a chip on your shoulder and complain about all the things you do not like. An almost visible brown cloud seems to hang over your surroundings.

In your heart, you know this is not the way God intends for you to live, but how do you overcome the daily rush of negative events and circumstances? Better yet, how do you see past them as though they were not there? Or is that even what God asks us to do?

In the book of Philippians, the apostle Paul writes to encourage this group of believers to know experientially the peace of God in spite of their surroundings. He says: "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

"Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need (4:10-12)."

These words came from a man who was imprisoned in Rome under the unrelenting, watchful care of the elite praetorian guard. (Philippians 1:13)Paul had no idea how long he must live without privacy and freedom.

It is easier to understand how such statements could be uttered by someone in comfort in his own home, with the hope of good days ahead. How then could Paul be so calm and collected and assured of his well-being? The "secret" comes in Philippians 4:13, a verse you have probably heard quoted many times in various contexts.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Paul was no pie-in-the-sky visionary who habitually denied reality. He had endured shipwrecks, beatings, rejection, ridicule, and public outrage. (2 Corinthians 11:24-33)Yet he could look at his bleak prospects, humanly speaking, and say he was truly content in any circumstance.

He knew that not every believer endured the things that God had called him to go through. Paul could have complained and spent his days weeping and yearning for better times, confused and angry at God's seeming lack of concern and response for his condition.

Did God not care for his comfort? Why couldn't he enjoy the benefits of a quiet life, unharassed by Rome and difficulties? When Paul said that Christ was his strength for everything, he meant everything—with the understanding that "everything" sometimes means negative experiences. Paul did not worry about counting his "have's" and "have not's" in a spirit of grasping fear. He knew that God's best for him was found in daily abiding in Christ, trusting Him to provide exactly what he needed. Looking in envy at that which God blessed other believers was not only sinful, but self-defeating and discouraging.

Centuries later, another group of believers placed their lives in the Lord's hands, drawing strength from these same truths in Philippians 4:10-13. They were the Pilgrims, the name of a group of English Puritans who sailed for the American eastern seaboard in 1620. Even though you might not share their heritage or national concerns, you can certainly appreciate their spirit of contented yet pioneering faith.

The story of the first Thanksgiving Day with the native American Indians is a testimony to God's provision. Under Governor William Bradford's direction, the Pilgrims were joined by Massasoit and 90 of his Wampanoag tribe for a great celebration—especially for sending the kind Indians to help them through a hard winter and disease.

Even more remarkable than their adventures on land was the trip over aboard the Mayflower. In their book The Light and the Glory, Peter Marshall and David Manuel describe what they suffered:

"The heat and the pressure began soon after they got underway: 102 Pilgrims huddled in the lantern-lit darkness of the low-ceilinged 'tween-decks; women and small children allowed to have the captain's cabin (Capt. Jones had generously offered to bunk with his petty officers);

"[N]o hatches open because of continuous storms; all non-essential personnel required to stay below decks; the constant crying of small children; no chance to cook any meals.

"It added up to seven weeks of the hell of an ill-lighted, rolling, pitching, stinking inferno, the kind that brings up sins that had lain buried for years—anger, self-pity, bitterness, vindictiveness, jealousy, despair. All these surfaced sins had to be faced, confessed, and given up to the Lord for His cleansing. No matter how ill they felt, or how grim the daily situation, they continued to seek God together, praying through despair and into peace and thanksgiving."

The physical hardships alone stagger modern sensibilities, without even considering the emotional anguish of being in such painful proximity to one's neighbor. These godly men and women were not just determined to survive; they were set on doing so with a heart attitude of genuine purity and humble gratitude.

When the Lord works in your life with unpleasant circumstances and things you wish you could change, He does so with the purpose of refining your spirit and drawing you nearer to Him and into His purposes. In retrospect, the Pilgrims recognized God's special work in that terrible journey—it weeded out poor attitudes and knitted them together as a stronger body of Christ.

What things are you unhappy about in your own life? Do you find yourself always wishing you could trade places with someone else? That is the path to certain dissatisfaction and heartache.

An often recommended remedy for a discontented spirit is "counting your blessings," and that activity is good in one respect; it encourages you to number the things you consider positive. But thanksgiving does not go hand-in-hand with contentment. You can be grateful for all you have and still look wistfully over the fence.

Contentment is an attitude cultivated by consistent consideration of Christ's certain provision. To conquer a spirit of discontentedness, you must hand over your desires to God, acknowledging His power to satisfy and His wisdom about what is best. No matter what your current condition, you have this assurance from Psalm 16:5-6NIV:

"Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

The Key To Contentment (1)

The Key To Contentment (2)