Contentment in Your Current Situation

Do you ever want to be somewhere “different”? Are you discontented with your current situation?

Think about the city, town, or area you live in. Do you ever ride or walk around and consider what it would be like to live somewhere other than where you live now? Maybe another town, another state, another country. If you do, what spurs those thoughts?

I’ve given it consideration every now and then. Never enough to try to do anything about it, though. Here are some things that make me pause and ask, “I wonder if I should be somewhere different?”

My church is farther away than I like at times. It takes us about twenty-five minutes to get to church on a Sunday morning. That’s not terrible. But it can take forty minutes if we want to go on a weeknight, depending on the time we want to be there.

Aside from the trip to church, sometimes I think the traffic is generally just too heavy. It can be difficult to get out of our neighborhood and onto the main road. I don’t believe I ever make an unsafe maneuver, but it’s not unusual to hear me say to my wife, “Hang on, we’re going!”

Yardwork. I’m getting older and our property is not getting easier to maintain. I did things backwards when it comes to yard maintenance. When I worked, I thought I was too busy to feed and mow the grass, so for the last several years of my career, I hired someone. Now, I’m retired, older, and bring in less money. I should have done it myself while I worked and saved the money to hire someone after I retired. What was I thinking?

I deal with this hankering for something different by doing a few things. One, I count the costs to move. The thought of the expense and hassle to move brings me back to reality. Two, I spend time working on our property. After some effort, it’s easier to step back and realize, I have great satisfaction in where we live. And three, which is the way I find more satisfying than any other, is I realize that no matter what I am, I can be content.

Look at what Paul tells us in Philippians 4:11-13 (NASB).

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

I used the example of where I live as a surrogate for many other issues. You could be dealing with more serious matters like health, finances, or family.

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To me, the point of the text from Philippians is not that you need to settle for whatever circumstance you find yourself in. Far from it. Instead, you need to realize that your contentment rests in Jesus. Not in location, comfort, ease of life, or anything this world or you may believe is the answer. Your contentment rests in the only one who can give you the strength not only to endure, but to rest, content in your current situation.

Are you content in your current situation? If not, let Jesus help.

The featured photo is from Annecy, France. My wife and I traveled there in 2012 for her MBA. I don’t think it would solve my “too far from church” dilemma.

Today’s feature photo comes from a “photo-a-day” challenge I pursued several years ago. The photo inspires the topic. For me, the posts challenge my creativity, writing discipline, and dependence on God for His message. My prayer is that you find hope in God’s Word, and that you’ll share your hope with others.