Articles
How to Find True Contentment
God’s word teaches us to be content regardless of our circumstances (Phil. 4:11). In practical terms, this means to keep a good attitude when life lets you down, to communicate your concerns to God as you wait for Him to act, and to be thankful for the blessings He has already given you (Phil. 4:7). Then we can have tremendous peace and contentment in difficult times as we wait for the Lord to work out His perfect will in our lives.
Paul wrote, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). If we believe this, we should respond accordingly.
Lay your burdens upon the Lord. Count your blessings instead of your curses. Focus more on what God has done in your life than on what you want Him to do.
Faith is what makes contentment possible. As we wait for God to work out His will in our lives, we must trust in His wisdom, His ways, and His timing. God always knows best, and true peace is only possible when we finally submit to that truth without reservation.
I love the statement Joseph made to his brothers when they apologized for selling him into slavery. He said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). The very circumstances that seem horrible in the moment often become blessings in our lives down the road.
We know very little about the future, and we think that anything that doesn’t feel good isn’t. But God sees the end from the beginning (Rev. 21:6). His thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways (Isa. 55:8).
He knows that “all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11). Contentment means learning to focus on the future outcome of our present situation instead of forever wanting our circumstances to change.
God loves us and wants what is best for our life. James 1:17 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” Be content knowing that His way is best and that something infinitely better than this life awaits those who wait on Him.
