As a follower of Christ, I am called to be content in every circumstance. Paul gives us a great example of that in jail of all places. He says, “for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, 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. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:11-13 NASB). He talks about being content when he has everything and when he has nothing. I have to be honest though, I find contentment to be a tricky thing.
Sometimes I feel like I am content. I am happy with my circumstances. I know I am where the Lord wants me to be, and I am doing exactly what the Lord has called me to do. Discontentment starts to creep in when I start to look towards my friends’ lives or the next life event instead of focusing on my life right now. It’s really easy to do that when you are in a very obvious season of preparing and waiting for the next step in life.
Alex (my husband) and I have been training to go to the mission field since before we got married three years ago. Every step we have taken, every decision we have made has been in light of this goal. We try to live our lives on mission no matter where we go, but there is always a nudge in the back of my mind that no matter how much our current location feels like home, it is not permanent. Most of my friends are starting to settle down, start a family, buy a house, and build a life in one location called home. I am in a season of waiting and looking towards the next thing. A season of training and preparation for cross-cultural ministry. I worry that my life will never really settle down in one place that I will call home. I worry that I will be bouncing from place to place for the rest of my life. As a child I dreamed of a life like this, and while I am excited for what God has in store, there is a certain feeling of discontentment at times when I look at the simplicity of a “normal” life.
I am persuaded that the best way to deal with these feelings is to bring them to the Lord. I feel discontent because I covet what my friends have, so I pray, “Lord help me to look to You and not the blessings you are pleased to give another.” I feel discontent because I feel like my life hasn’t really started yet, so I pray, “Lord give me a mind that recognizes my life started the minute I entrusted it to You.” I feel discontent when I look away from the great things God has done and is doing in my life, so I pray, “Lord give me eyes to see the good blessings you desire to give to me. Help me to call all blessings good whether they are mine or not.”
At the end of Philippians 4:11-13 Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NASB). He is convinced that He can be content in all things through the God who gives him strength and provides for all his needs. I strive to follow Paul’s example and declare that I can be content in all circumstances through Christ who gives me strength.