Oh the Contentment.

This is a new post up for the women at Sojourn church. You can read it OVER HERE or just read it below. 

I talk to people all the time who are struggling with contentment-- it comes out in different ways... some depression, some jealousy, some bitterness, some striving, some fear, some just plain ole’ anger.  I’m also very close to someone whose contentment is always called into question, myself. In fact, if you say that you don’t struggle with contentment some of the time, you’re probably not being honest with yourself -- much less others. Satan has sneaky sources to help fuel this within us like social media and advertisements, then we have our own imaginations. We dream about that family we are going to have, the house we always thought we’d end up in, the job we wanted to have while adopting those pretty babies from {insert country of choice} and when that doesn’t happen, there are seeds of dangerous sin finding root within us. I.AM.GUILTY. 

While it looks different for each person, the common denominator is that we all think we know exactly the best plan for our lives. We have an arrogant assumption that we should get exactly what we want... when we want it. I might also add that we have no consideration (or just a fleeting one) about what God’s Word has to say about our trials and sufferings. We want to wallow in our self-pity because we think it feels better than turning towards the cross. We don’t want things to be hard; we want an easy life, with an easy way and an easy answer. 

I immediately think about Jesus being in the garden before heading to execution, knowing He was about to face a painful death for this very sin. There wasn’t anything easy about it for Him; that, I am sure of.  

What is, therefore, my source of joy? 

If the things in my life that I find happiness in (my job, family, certain food, friends, marriage, car, beauty, success, health etc. etc. etc) went missing, would I be joyless? Don’t get me wrong, God often blesses us with these particular things and we, by His grace, sometimes give Him glory for those blessings. I’m also not saying desiring these things are bad, or that having joy in the midst of suffering caused by the lack of one of these things is easy or a light task. But I am saying, when you aren’t given one of these desires that you crave, does it cause you to be joyless and not look to the One of Hope? Is your life built around the hope that God will give you a husband or a baby or a job or a certain salary or a ministry or a .....?

How then, do we respond to good things in life when Christ alone should be our only source of joy?  Is it then that these good things should make us unhappy? 

By no means, the living God, the source of all things good IS the One who choses to give us these things. 

If then, He chooses for me to NOT have them, I can make a logical, loving and right conclusion that the absence of them is for my good as well.  

The absence of them does not mean we aren’t good enough, or we haven’t earned the right. It means the One who IS good enough and who HAS earned the right for us has a different, better plan for our lives. The absence of these “good” things is for my joy because its what causes the most glory to God. Therefore, if He alone is my source of joy and contentment because He sacrificed Himself in my place, then I’m able to be thankful in the midst of my circumstances. 

I’m content in that the cross of Christ can never be removed. And now, on earth, I get the pleasure and satisfaction of being made more like Him. 

**And He is better than any husband, any pregnancy, any dream job or any ... !

Does this mean we don’t mourn, grieve and cry out to Him when terrible things happen and when struggles come our way? Absolutely not. But it does mean that we mourn with Hope! It means we grieve with the new heart given freely to us at salvation. It scares me to write that it also means our particular, personal pain and suffering God allows for each of us.. is worth it. It’s worth it only because are being made into something eternally favorable, eternally good and eternally lasting.

So then, we don’t just hope for circumstantial change, but we regard a deeper relationship with the Perfect One, an understanding of God, His character, His Word and His gospel story as more beautiful.  

I’m writing this in response to my own life... when I think about my husband making huge career changes that calls into question my trust in God (and our bank account), when I consider the woman I encouraged this week to stay in a desperately hard and miserable marriage, when my dear friend gets angry when someone other than herself gets pregnant, when I see someone longing for companionship with another sinner to satisfy her desires, when I see friends endure the death of their child and know I can’t imagine the pain, and on the same day think about the kind of car that would make my life easier, the house porch I saw on pinterest or the food I choose to find comfort in.  

Deep suffering. Ugly sin. 

What I am saying here has major consideration and consequences tied to it. And I am not saying it lightly. It’s a huge statement and has a really hard meaning. I don’t think striving to have God as my only source of contentment is an easy thing- which is why I would never say it tritely to someone in their suffering, but I will encourage them towards it. The most loving thing I can do for a fellow sinner- sufferer is help cultivate their hope in Christ. Not quoting Scripture like a pretty bandaid, but giving hope from God’s Word because He is who He says He is. It is the only place that those struggling for a life different than what they have (me and you) will find peace that passes all understanding and comfort that soothes even the darkest pain.