Before I get too far into this, I would like to point out that there seems to be two kinds of discontent. The first, I would not actually consider discontent. It is basically a sense of peace in where you are and what you have, but knowing that you want to continue consistently on a steady path forward – progressing – whether that is in your career, your relationship with God, or life in general. In other words, if you stayed right where you are and kept the things you have without obtaining more, you’d be content, but your desire is simply to continue improving. The other is when you basically continue to want more and cannot be satisfied with what you have already attained.
A good example of both, I think would be how I have felt about my current home. It is basically a 1970-something model double-wide with some additions and upgrades. Now, when I have watched home improvement shows a little too much or compared with homes that my friends have (or, even if I imagined what they had based on their descriptions), I have felt discontent with my home. I want to change so many things to try to disguise all that is outdated – or even bring in a new home on the property – or simply move. However, when I turned my focus on the positive aspects of my home and begin to be thankful for it…even some of the very aspects that I wanted to change, I am much more content. I recognize that there are things that need to be done to maintain it or bring it into a cohesiveness that may be missing; but, I have a much greater sense of contentment even recognizing the improvements that need to be made. I can better enjoy doing home improvements when I am first content.
I will add here that I must be careful that when I recognize areas that need to be improved upon whether in my home, personally/physically, or spiritually, I can get impatient. One of the definitions of impatience is, as said by Dictionary.com app, “eager desire for relief or change; restlessness.” One definition of discontent from the same source says, “a restless desire or craving for something one does not have.” I hope you can see as I can how these two can be related. I recognize that there has to be enough restlessness to desire change/improvement to get us to actually move and take those steps, but I think the bottom line for you and me to remember is that, improvement is good; change can be good; taking the steps to make those changes can be necessary; but becoming bent out-of-shape to the point of unhappiness daily because the focus is on what is not rather than what is can be detrimental to our joy. If we can allow God to realign our thinking and allow our hearts to be grateful and content right where we are, the things that we receive, whether a new home, new carpet, an opportunity to travel, or a side of fries, can be extra special bonus and blessings!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this book, along with allowing God to quiet me, I had to become more content before I was able to settle into giving this writing thing a good shot. I thought I was content in a sense.
I enjoy life.
I like where I live.
I have joy.
I have Jesus.
I love my church.
I love my husband and my family.
I know I am blessed.
I was happy. I didn’t really feel discontent. I was, however, searching for more.
For one thing, I wanted to travel. In order to travel, you need money. In order to have money to travel, you need a job that provides more than “just enough.” You need a job to provide extra money! (Going in debt to travel was not an option.) I still had student loans for goodness sake! I had just left behind an almost $40,000/year job for zilch, basically.
Now, I am sure that this desire was not the only thing motivating my discontentment, but you get the picture. When you are continually trying to figure out what you can afford to go see (or buy or gain, if that is the longing in your case) and how you can come up with more money to do so, it creates a sense of discontentment that you may not even realize you have. The funny part of this is that I truly do love being home. I needed to accept the fact that traveling may be on hold for the time being because the extra part-time work I was doing at the time only added to the discontentment. So, instead of searching frantically for that next big thing, I settled myself; laid aside a few more weights; and became a little more settled.
So, you see, just how very, VERY important it was that I quieted myself – or allowed God to do so. I do not claim to have it all figured out (or have mastered “godliness”), but I do know that when you put God and contentment together, you have a wealth that is beyond explainable…
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (1 Timothy 6:6, NLT)
As I grow in my relationship with God and in contentment, I have already gained greatly. He is still working on me and growing me…and I would expect nothing less. When I truly open myself up to Him in surrender and am honest with myself, “He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.” (Psalms 23:3, NLT) …and what I often find is that “…My cup overflows with blessings.” (Psalms 23:5, NLT)
Simply Celebrate With Jackie 