The Secret of Contentment: Part 3

…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11b-13

In this final post on the secret of contentment, I want to add some additional ways that help us develop are more contented life. As I mentioned last time, it is not necessary to work on all of these at once. But as you engage in these practices, God will do His work within you that will result in a greater inner rest. Here are the final practices that will help us all get closer to the secret.

Stay current in your confession of sin.

The unwillingness to be honest with ourselves and God about our struggles with sin will invariably impact our ability to remain content. David learned this first hand in his dealings with Bathsheba. In Psalm 32, he comments on the negative impact of trying to hide sin. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”

Bones wasting away. Constant groaning. Strength sapped. That’s a description of discontent if I ever heard of one. And it all was the result of a lack of confession. This is why it is so important that we stay current in our confession. We’re not talking about a morbid/hyper preoccupation with our sins. Rather we trust the work of the Holy Spirit to bring to the surface those areas of sinfulness that we need to confess. As we do, a wonderful thing happens. We are forgiven. And as David said in verse 1 of Psalm 32, the forgiven person is able to experience God’s blessing. This is contentment.

Avoid excessive busyness.

The motto of Home Depot is “How doers get more done.” It is a subtle but unmistakable message that we ought to be getting more and more done. Thus we work excessive hours while filling our every waking moment with activity. It’s the very problem that Jesus noted in Martha who was being consumed by all her “doing.” (Luke 10)

The Psalmist put it this way in Psalm 127:2: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat…” Note that excessive busyness is described here as form of vanity, emptiness if you will. To be clear, the alternative to excessive busyness isn’t an invitation for laziness. Rather it is a call for greater balance in our lives. In our fast-paced world, we have to be intentional to learn rhythms of work and rest. This intentional slowing leads to contentment.

Immerse yourself in the scripture.

As Jeremiah struggled with his prophetic assignment, he vacillated between contentment and despair. At times he seems to want to abandon his spiritual assignment of preaching to God’s wayward people despite his fears of the coming judgment and the personal impact this will have on his own life. Yet at the same time, he reaches toward God for inner renewal. One such example is found in Jeremiah 15:16. Here the prophet states, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.”

Jeremiah isn’t suggesting that by reading the scripture his outward circumstances changed. They didn’t. Instead he found that when he took the time to truly digest God’s word, it restored his joy. Why? It reminded him of who he was: a person who bore the name of God. This is what strengthened his contentment even during a very difficult time.

We too need to “eat” the words of the scripture. This isn’t a gobbling down of a few verses while we are rushing off to our daily tasks. The idea here is a savoring of the words from God. Reflecting and meditating on the scripture brings nourishment to the soul. And that feeds our contentment.

Regularly engage in soul-building activities.

Body-builders lift weights in order to strengthen and build their muscles. But it doesn’t happen just because they hope it will. They go to the gym on a regular basis and do the things that give them their desired result. The same is true when it comes to contentment. Since contentment is directly connected with the state of our soul, then we must regularly engage in soul-building activities if we intend to strengthen our inner peace.

Proverbs 4:23 states it this way: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Your heart is your soul. And according to this verse, everything about the quality of your life including your level of contentment flows from your soul. So we have to do things that safeguard our soul in order to keep it healthy.

Unfortunately, we live in a soul-robbing world. Everyday we are bombarded by things that slowly but surely erode our spiritual strength. As that happens, our contentment is eroded as well. To counter that we need to engage in spiritual practices that build or protect the soul. This will vary from person to person. It includes overtly spiritual practices such as Bible reading, prayer, and solitude as well as activities that replenish us. Taking a long walk, sitting before a beautiful nature scene, or enjoying the company of good friends are just some of the ways we can keep our souls well.

I hope that you find something in these three posts on contentment that will help you have a deeper sense of inner peace. As I said at the beginning, contentment is possible. We just have to learn the secret.