Dis/Contentment in your life and how to overcome it
By Elizabeth Prata
Are you discontent? Discontent because you’re single? Discontent because you’re married? Didn’t get the job you wanted? Lost the job you loved? Hate where you live? Didn’t make the grade? Your boss hates you? You hate your boss?
Life is hard, it always has been. “In this world you will have trouble” Jesus said. (John 16:33). But lately it seems that the trouble is increasing, and coming from directions we had not expected. It’s a lot to keep up with.
We’ve always been a people to attach our happiness to comfortable or satisfactory circumstances, even though the Bible warns us to keep our eyes on Jesus and remain heavenly minded. The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us, said Paul in Romans 8:18. But us puny humans forget, and we weep, we complain, we grumble. I know I do, before I have to metaphorically slap myself and say ‘Snap out of it!’
I listened to two podcasts yesterday that were on opposite ends of this spectrum, one was about severe and deep suffering, the kind that no husband or parent should ever have to deal with. But we do deal with it because, I refer again to John 16:33.
“The Cellar of Affliction” was episode 7 in Season 1 of The MacArthur Center for Expository Preaching, “The Expositor: The Story of How John MacArthur Became the World’s Premier Expository Preacher.”
The episode is described thus: John Donne called them Job’s sick days. They are days of unexpected, and often unimaginable, suffering. They are part of life in a fallen world, both for believers and nonbelievers. And they are a constant reality in the life of a preacher. John MacArthur is certainly no stranger to suffering. This episode describes a dark day in the MacArthur family, and how that suffering shaped his life and ministry. And it looks at how John’s life and preaching have cared for those in what Samuel Rutherford called “the cellar of affliction.”
The episode also shared about other parents and families going through a trial and suffering. What they went through and how they came to the other side without complaint, or grumbling, clinging to joy in the darkest of days, is inspiring.
I also listened to The Women’s Hope podcast with Dr. Shelbi Cullen and Kimberly Cummings discuss “Contentment in the Midst of Chaos“
Episode Description – Episode 125, Oct 14, 2021- Shelbi and Kim open up about times when they’ve battled discontentment. What passages of Scripture helped them navigate life’s most challenging moments? What did God teach them through trials? Listen to find out.
In addition to discussing the issue that brought discontentment into their lives and the realizations they discovered as they walked through it to the other side, the two women offer practical advice at the end as well.
I found these two discussions helpful. I tend to tie my happiness to my circumstances. Last week, my car broke down. That is one area I have a hard time accepting disruptions. It may not be a huge issue to others but it is to me. I worked hard to focus on Jesus during that week and not complain, even under the guise of ‘asking for prayer’. It all got resolved in providential ways and the Lord even took care of me financially afterward. I need to do more of that for when the next circumstance changes, and it will. Whether it’s a minor disruption like the car issue or something major like the sufferings discussed in the MacArthur Expositor podcast, the advice remains the same.
Listen to these two podcasts and see if you think so too. 🙂
