Your contentment issues may have nothing to do with material possessions but rather with circumstances challenging situations in life that haven’t improved despite your best efforts. Although we hope and pray for healing from illnesses or resolution for difficult conflicts, the reality is, these prayers are not always answered as we hope. Contentment means running the race when things are going well and continuing to run even when they are not.
Regardless of the source of your discontentment, understand these three things:
1. Contentment is within your grasp. You can learn, as the Apostle Paul did, to be at peace with your circumstances. Forget how green the grass appears somewhere else. By focusing on what is over there, you are unable to see the blessings of what’s right here in your own backyard.
2. Contentment thieves should be arrested. Pesky thought patterns rob you of your contentment and peace of mind. These thoughts start so innocently but can lead to major chaos. Something as harmless as admiring a friend’s marriage, job, or financial situation can easily shift to comparing and finding inadequacy in your own marriage, work, or finances. The habit of dwelling on what-ifs can be equally dangerous. Lingering on what might have been only casts a dark shadow over what is. The best way to deal with contentment thieves is squelch this form of mental static and refuse to allow your mind to wander down those paths.
3. Thankfulness can be cultivated. Contentment and thankfulness go hand in hand. The more thankful a person is, the more content she’s likely to be. Even if your circumstances aren’t what you would consider ideal, choose to be thankful. And during the most trying times, you can find something to be thankful for, even if it’s just the knowledge that God is with you. Contentment grows as you nurture it with gratitude.
So how is your level of contentment these days? Has discontentment cluttered your heart and confused your mind? If so, it doesn’t have to be that way. Become a student of contentment. Learn to be content on the inside, now matter what’s happening on the outside. Kiss the clutter of discontentment goodbye so you can welcome being at peace and contented with your circumstances.
(NANCY TWIGG)