Contentment: Wanting God and His Plans

 

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”

Psalm 27:14

            The word “contentment” scares me. There is something ominous about the word when I hear it. To me, it implies being stuck in life circumstances that I want to change. Being content gives God a free pass to not change anything about my life, right?

            This thought pattern of mine has been challenged this week. What does it truly mean to be content? Is being content supposed to be a scary thing or is it really the key to joy and hope in this life? I had one of those moments today when I was tempted to wish my life were different or that past events had not turned out as they had. I took a few minutes to pray about it before trying to push the thoughts aside. I decided to open my Bible app to read the verse of the day just in case it might happen to be encouraging. You never know. It was, but not the way I expected nor necessarily wanted.

            “Wait on the Lord,” the verse of the day began, “be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” Wait for what? Past events to reverse and for me to direct the outcomes? For my dreams of the future to be fulfilled and before my eyes tomorrow? To wait for my problems to vanish away like morning mist after a fresh rain?

            No. The verse of the day simply said to take courage because He will strengthen my heart. All I must do is wait for Him. The verse did not promise that God would fix all the inconveniences or pains of my life tomorrow. The verse did not bid me smile for He would wipe away all my problems. Psalm 27:14 promised something better. It promised me God. It told me that God sees my pain. He sees my hurt. He will take care of my heart where others have left scars. He will take care of me because He loves me. He will strengthen me so that I can serve Him and others without hindrance—without continually looking back like Lot’s wife at what I have lost but instead looking ahead at what and Who I have gained.

            Psalm 27:14 spoke of contentment. Contentment is not a throwing up of your arms and a disgruntled sigh bidding God have His way and just keep you miserable. It is a voluntary deepening of your breath and an opening of your shaky hands to God. It is choosing to wait on Him and to praise Him in the waiting. Contentment is raising your head to the Father, even if tears blind your vision, and acknowledging that His ways are higher than yours. They are not orchestrated to make you miserable or to keep you stuck. His ways are to bring you closer to His heart. To embrace discontent is to remain stuck.

            How do I be content? I cannot be on my own. I have begun to ask God to allow His spirit to open my hands to Him and to let praise be the fruit of my lips (Hebrews 13:15). I still am afraid of contentment. I still struggle with wanting my life situations to change. I struggle everyday with even wanting to praise God. Yet, I know contentment is a gift that will bring me closer to Him and align my heart to His plans for me.

            I want Him and His plans for me, even when they involve the hard…so much.