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How are you doing with nurturing contentment in life right now?
A few years ago, I had a conversation with one of our boys.
Boy: “I’m never content, Mom.”
This came after I’d done something for him and had hoped it would (finally) be enough for him.
It wasn’t.
And I was kind of hurt.
In that conversation, I realized contentment never begins with what others do for us.
If that’s true, where does contentment in life begin?
Understanding and evaluating our belief systems may be the place where contentment begins.
3 Good Ways to Nurture Contentment in Life Right Now—Understanding and evaluating our belief systems may be the place where contentment begins #contentment #faithlife Click To Tweet
Truths about contentment
- Contentment does not equal happiness. When we’re happy, we may not be content. But we can be content in life and not have happiness.
- Contentment doesn’t come from becoming a different kind of person, working a different job, having more money/things, having a different appearance (hair, skin color, weight, etc), or a different set of circumstances.
- Contentment is not dependent on externals, but on who we are internally. Where we find our value. What we believe about ourselves.
Greg Laurie says, “Paul was saying that real contentment comes from the state of the heart.”
- Our contentment in life isn’t based on how others treat us—good or bad. As my son proved, others can treat us well—help us out with things—and we can still feel discontent. On the other hand, someone can treat us terribly, but that doesn’t have to impact our level of contentment.
- Contentment may, in part, be based on our understanding of our value. When we know Whose we are—how our Father values and loves us—our perspective changes, becomes more accurate.
- If contentment reflects our heart condition, then embracing the truth we are loved by our limitless Heavenly Father can imprint contentment into how we process life and perceive the situations we face.
Trusting the Lord more than ourselves—believing His plans for us are always for our best—can help us to not wish for something else.
What nurtures contentment in life?
There may be many ways to nurture contentment, but these three thoughts are foundational.
Believe we are loved by God
I believe contentment thrives when we choose to believe we are loved by God. There’s something freeing that happens when we sink into the love of another, especially of our Heavenly Father. We find peace, even in hard situations. We discover confidence to walk through the situations God allows into our lives.
Trust God
When we know we are loved by God, we will trust Him more readily. Is this hard sometimes? YES. When we face pain, disappointment, or fear-inducing situations, we may be forced to work through some mindsets to get to the place where we’ll trust God.
Examples of trust
Throughout the Bible, God shares examples of people who trusted Him in difficult circumstances.
- Joseph chose trust when he was imprisoned by his brothers, was a slave to Potiphar, and unjustly imprisoned again.
- David trusted God when Saul sought his life. He believed God’s plan for him to one day be king.
- Jeremiah trusted God when not even one person was saved through his ministry. When he was placed in a cistern.
- How often did the apostles, Paul, and other New Testament believers trust God when they faced persecution?
Focus our hearts on God
When we trust that God’s got us, that He’s holding us, that He has good plans for our lives, we can face any situation and have contentment.
3 Good Ways to Nurture Contentment in Life Right Now—When we trust that God’s got us, that He’s holding us, that He has good plans for our lives, we can face any situation and have contentment #contentment #faithlife Click To TweetWhy? Because of where our hearts are focused. When we fix our eyes and hearts on God and the truths we know about Him, He firms up our footing.
Our contentment is based on the state of our hearts.
Why is contentment important?
People believe many things about why contentment is important. For those with a relationship with Jesus, contentment reflects pieces of our relationship with Him.
God is all about our hearts. He cares about the circumstances we face, the struggles we grapple through, the hurts we need healing from. But our hearts reflect how much we trust Him and His love for us. He yearns for our hearts to be His.
Contentment isn’t about being happy or even joyful all the time. Contentment isn’t a one-and-done decision. If we want to live in a spirit of contentment, we must watch where our heart is focused.
Contentment in life isn’t a guaranteed circumstance. We can be like Paul when he says 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: 12 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. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
We won’t have enough strength to get through life on our own. But when we lean into the truth that Jesus will strengthen us, we can have contentment in every situation.
Conclusion
I wish I could say that my son now lives in a continual state of contentment. Goodness, I wish I could say that I do.
The truth is, contentment in life is something we grow into as we grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord.
We need to . . .
take our focus off of ourselves and put it on Him . . .
and trust that He both has good plans for us and He walks with us through the hard things in life.
What about you? What choices help you to live with contentment in life? Are there Bible verses you’ve clung to that help you keep your focus on God to know contentment?
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Worthwhile reminders, Jeanne! A habitual quiet time spent with God is one strategy that helps me refocus my heart on him and boosts my contentment.
Nancy, please forgive my delayed response. I’m so glad you found these to be worthwhile reminders! I completely agree with the truth that daily quiet times help our hearts stay focues on the Lord. When our eyes are fixed on Him our hearts find contentment more easily.
Sorry I’m so late!
When I started platforming,
they said I need content,
but that sounded boring,
’cause I didn’t know what content meant.
I live my days from joke to jest,
and I write this all the time,
and I do my very best
to put ’em into Shakespeare rhyme,
but is this what content means?
Do I have to bear on down,
wearing oh-so-serious miens,
forsaking my chops as a clown
for earnest man who now comports
grimly, wearing tie with shorts?
Andrew, and my even later reply. 😉 I always appreciate your humor, my friend. And your honesty. I’m praying for you and Barb.
I love this, Jeanne. The whole time I was reading, one of the scripture songs from when my girls were in Awana kept going through my head: “Be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.’ ” (Hebrews 13:5) The connection seems plain to me: we are able to be content in any circumstances because God has promised to always be with us. We might not have everything we want or even need, but He is enough. What a blessing that is!
Lois, I haven’t heard the song, but I sure love the verse!YES to all you’ve said here, friend. You’re speaking my heart.
A few years ago my word for the year was “contentment” and I focused on Paul’s verse to be in content in all situations. Yes, our contentment is not base on our circumstances but on our heart state. And God calls us to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. Thanks for getting me focused on contentment in Him today!
Lynn, that verse in Philippians 4 is such a good one. When we keep our hearts focused on the Lord, we can know His contentment. Thanks for sharing what’s helped you!
Good thoughts, Jeanne. One verse that helped me with contentment is Psalm 84:11: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” If He withholds what seems to me like a good thing, He knows it would not be good for me, or it’s not the right time.
One time this was really clear to me in hindsight was when we moved when I was in junior high school. The students were divided into pretty rigid cliques, and I was not included in any of them. Finally I became good friends with another girl who was also on the outside fringes. But I found out years later that this was for my protection. The group I most wanted to be part of was into harmful behaviors that would not have been good for me. Since then I have been so thankful I was not a part of that group.
Barbara, I appreciate you bringing up Psalm 84:11. YES. If He hasn’t given me something, it’s not a good gift for me to have. Thanks so much for sharing your story about friends in high school. I had a similar situation. God did not allow me to become good friends with certain people, much to my disappointment at the time. But, later, I saw how God protected me from a lot of heartache and bad decisions. I’m so glad He knows best what we need and what we don’t.
Great reflection! I find that the more I trust God, the more content and settled I feel. Thanks for sharing.
Rebecca, YES. The more we trust God, the more contentment becomes a life-mode, so to speak. I appreciate you visiting!
Such wise reflections here, Jeanne. Thank you. It’s so true that contentment thrives when we truly believe we are loved by God. Yes, a matter of the state of our hearts. This helps so much as well – “When we fix our eyes and hearts on God and the truths we know about Him, He firms up our footing.” Love and blessings to you! Thank you also for the beautiful photos that refresh my soul!
Trudy, isn’t it amazing how transformational it is when we understand and live in the truth that we are loved by God?! I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I so appreciate you, friend! Sending you love and blessings back.
There’s lots of wisdom here, Jeanne! It is easy to look for contentment in our circumstances and to think we’d be content if only we got a certain outcome, but I agree, it is much more about our hearts. If we are focused on God, we can have a contentment that lasts no matter what our circumstances are.
Lesley, it’s taken me years to understand the heart piece of contentment. You’re right. When we focus on God, we can have contentment in every situation we face. I so appreciate your visit!
This was such a good piece, Jeanne. Contentment is based on the state of our hearts. You made me ask myself, “What is the focus of my heart?” A Scripture came to mind: “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” (James 1:17, NASB). When I remember the perfect gifts He has given me, my heart is filled with contentment. Putting this all together made me realize that when I am grateful for what I have been given, I will be content. May we keep our hearts focused on Him. Blessings!
Joanne, thanks for your kind words. I like your question. I find myself asking that from time to time as I evaluate where I’m at in life, decisions I’m making, and things I’m dreaming. It’s a question that is timely throughout life. The verse you’ve shared is such a good one. If God hasn’t given us a gift, He knows it’s not good for us. Thank you for sharing that. I so appreciate your wisdom shared here, friend. Thank you.
Hey Jeanne … as I read your wise words, that verse ‘godliness with contentment is great gain’ lodged in my head. It’s so easy to focus on the contentment piece and leave the godliness to second place. Any peace of heart and mind we have is only by His grace. I just can’t drum it up on my own.
Linda, that is such a great verse, and yes, doesn’t it apply to this idea of nurturing contentment in life? I’m with you in desiring to live in the “with” of that verse. When I’ve tried to make myself content in my own strength, I crash and burn in frustration. Thanks for sharing!