I have never been one to just be contented to get by. I was driven at a young age to get those things that I felt I had been denied and I wasn’t afraid to work. My husband used to get mad at me when I would express my desire to have a bigger house, a better house. He was happy with the little house we had. I wanted more.

This morning in my morning quiet time, I was reading about a woman who was convicted to make a stand in her life against complaining. She realized how much God hated the complaining of the Israelites when they were just a short distance outside of the promised land. Their complaints stopped them from enjoying the blessings God had in store for them. Their complaining created great hardships over the next 40 years while they all died in the wilderness and only their descendants were allowed to enter into God’s promised land. That brought me to think about contentment, and what that means in my life and what that should mean to me now.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Proverbs 21: 9, “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife”.  I guess this verse has always resonated with me because of my experience watching my own parents and seeing what a horrible husband my dad was. I always knew exactly what I wanted in a husband, because I had seen what I wouldn’t tolerate. And thus, I understood how blessed a woman with a good husband was. I just can’t abide a woman who treats her husband with contempt and belittles him; she needs to realize how lucky she is and appreciate what God has blessed her with.

And that brings me back to contentment. Contentment is a state of happiness and satisfaction. The concept really does fly in the face of everything we are taught in today’s world. But do you think it is possible to be contented and driven at the same time? I do. The Apostle Paul in Corinthians 11:23-28, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” Paul also wrote to the believers in Philippians 4:11-13, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for 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 things through him who gives me strength.”

The lesson I believe is that we can be driven yet contented. God isn’t asking us to be a bunch of slugs and just lay around happy with whatever crumbs fall our way. He expects us to fight the good fight and run the race to its completion. But he also wants us to do His work with a spirit of contentment, of happiness and of satisfaction. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, create in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So, as you begin your day, put on a spirit of contentment. Look to God for your joy and put your hands to work as you push towards the promise land, not complaining about the obstacles in your path, but with the joy and the presence of the Lord as your guide. Don’t get left behind in the wilderness. March proudly towards the promised land to the reward the God has prepared for you. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. -Amen (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

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