Learning to be Content
Seasons change, for better or for worse depending on your preferred weather. Summer gives way to the crisp cool of autumn as the air dampens & newly golden leaves fall from darkening branches. Autumn passes into the chill of winter with biting breezes and shimmering snow. Winter submits to spring & its new buds, as birdsong floods the air & vibrant blossoms burst to life. Spring melts into summer as the sun spills its hot rays onto the world below, baking the earth into a sweet aroma.
Our desires often influence how deeply we enjoy a particular season. I prefer heat over cold so I find it easy to enjoy the warm summer months, sunlight that lasts into late evenings, less rain & no snow. I enjoy autumn’s “easy cold” - just enough chill to pull on a sweater, but not enough to keep me bundled up under a mountain of blankets all day. I like the color & new life that spring brings. And winter…well, I’m still working on finding the personal joys in that!
As seasons change, it’s easy to become fickle. We yearn for warmth in winter & cold in summer. We wish we could pull out that summer wardrobe in December & our cozy sweaters in July. We long for another season while missing out on the joys of the one we’re currently in.
It’s easy to shift our point of view & start listing joys of earth’s seasons (even for the seasons we really dislike!), but much harder to do so for difficult seasons of life. Seasons of heartbreak, joblessness, hopelessness, grief, unmet expectations, dashed dreams - these seasons require us to dig deeper than appreciating chilly days at home in winter or sunny picnics outside in the summer. Difficult life seasons require us to find God in the midst of our painful circumstances.
The Apostle Paul knew a lot about difficult circumstances. He experienced persecution, shipwrecks, abandonment, imprisonment & more. Yet he found contentment. How? We can dive into part of his roadmap in Philippians 4:11-13:
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Before diving into this verse, I believe we must understand that contentment does not equal happiness. God isn’t asking us to be happy about the sadness in our lives. He wouldn’t have given us an entire array of emotions otherwise. I believe that contentment is the peace & fulfillment we receive as we trust God’s sovereign plan. It is the ability to find joy in less-than-ideal circumstances & to stay faithful even when it seems all joy has been lost. Contentment highlights the purpose alongside the pain, lending meaning to every season.
God recently gave me a richer understanding of Philippians 4:11-13. What He highlighted to me is that contentment is learned. Paul writes that he learned to be content no matter the circumstance. How did he learn? By experiencing the good & the bad. He learned how to survive the highs & the lows, how to be full & to be hungry, how to have plenty & little. How did Paul make it through the good & the bad? By depending on God in all things. Modern applications of Philippians 4:13 can leave audiences falsely believing that Paul is saying we can be whatever we dream with no consideration of our gifts, talents, weaknesses, & specific God-given callings. The verse is teaching us something better than a pithy affirmation. It teaches us that we can endure any trial in life by God’s strength made manifest in our deepest weakness. We can endure all things through the power of Christ living in us.
Contentment is learned through experience. Difficult experiences allow us to practice contentment, to strengthen it like a muscle. We must face difficult circumstances to learn the grace of contentment. Contentment is a grace that helps us endure dark nights while awaiting sunnier days. We must live both sides, the whole story, the good & the bad, that we may learn to be content in all things. We learn through practice & grow more adept as a result.
The message of contentment tends to seem most applicable in unfavorable situations, like after an undesired breakup or coping with a tough job. But how many of us have received the blessing we once prayed for & then still are discontent? We ask God for deliverance, a better job, a bigger house but then complain when He removes us from our Egypt, when the new job no longer feels exciting, when the new home has more toilets to clean & windows to wash. We must examine ourselves to determine whether we’re practicing contentment even in favorable times. Am I grateful for the gifts I have, or am I striving for more, better, different, novel, etc? I must remind myself to enjoy each season, even the good ones.
When we struggle with being content in good times (evidenced in part perhaps by seeking & striving for more & more & more without ever being satisfied), we can reflect: What am I seeking to fill me? Am I seeking to be fulfilled by the corruptible things of the natural world (status, money, possessions), or the incorruptible things of the kingdom of God (His Spirit, love, assignments, gifts, salvation, mercy, & more)? Corruptible things fade away but incorruptible things endure eternally. We can endure in life by drawing from the eternally enduring well of God’s strength. Endure by seeking enduring things & eternal promises, not corruptible things that are passing away with this world.
Our endurance is strengthened under trials. James 1:2-3 tells us to count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. As we learn to persevere, we gain the fruit of patience & joy. Trials test our faith. Our level of contentment can help us gauge our level of faith. Do I believe God is good even here? Do I trust God’s plan when it feels like everything is a disaster, when I watch my crumpled plans blow away like dust in the wind? Who is God to me? Do I see Him as a genie who does exactly what I want? Or do I understand that He is Jehovah Jireh, my Provider; Jehovah Shalom, my Peace; Elohim, mighty Creator? As we accept the truth of who God is & grow stronger through trials, we are better able to find contentment in the midst of life’s valleys.
What about comparison? Comparison has been a huge stumbling block on my personal journey toward contentment. My life might feel pretty good until I see that person’s marriage, job, or LinkedIn profile listing all their accomplishments & degrees. I wrongly begin to visualize my life through their eyes, which makes me feel small & worthless. The problem is that comparison lacks depth & dimension. It’s like seeing a picture of the Grand Canyon - visually beautiful but incomplete. There’s more to the experience than a single photo can ever capture. The comparison trap deceives us into thinking otherwise. It causes us to believe false narratives. We don’t see the whole picture. We covet a mirage. The antidote? Seek God’s plan for your life, not looking to the right or to the left. What unique joys can you experience in the season God has you in? God may be protecting you from the very thing you want. While you’re staring at a single picture of someone else’s life, God sees the whole picture of your life & He knows exactly what you need & when you need it.
Contentment is a state we learn to inhabit. A choice in every season, not necessarily a feeling - just like in earth’s natural seasons where we might not feel like bundling up in our winter coat to stay warm but know that we will be better for having worn it. Enter the changing seasons of life with the spiritual coat of contentment. Recognize the beauty of learning, growing, & deepening your faith as you rely on God’s strength in the peaks & valleys. Contentment is learned by experiencing the dynamic ups & downs of life. We can view our trials as a training ground to grow our contentment muscle. We can find purpose in the pain as we allow the Lord to fill our cup with His eternal presence.
Rooting for you & all that God has for you as we journey toward contentment together. I’m so grateful you’re here!