I want to share a couple more quotes and thoughts from When God Doesn’t Fix It, by Laura Story. In the long journey of her husband’s health issues she wrote, “It took me several years to realize that it wasn’t a detour; it was the road.” As she reflected on that, she heard God asking, “If I called you to stay how you are right now, will you be content, or will there always be something else you want?” (127-128).
Those are both good points worth considering. I often find myself thinking, “Once that happens, I’ll have a clear path ahead and I’ll know where I’m going,” but the detour keeps curving further away from what I think must be the “real” road. I can’t count the number of times I thought I knew what the future held, only to find my path going somewhere entirely different. (Career planning in high school and college is somewhat of a fruitless endeavor.) Even in smaller decisions I think, “This is just a temporary thing and pretty soon life will get back to normal.” But normal never comes.
So her question is a good one—will I be content with where I am today, or always looking for something to change? The New Testament authors speak of contentment fairly often:
- Hebrews 13:5 – “…Be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”
- 1 Timothy 6:6 – “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
- Philippians 4:11 – “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 – “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Contentment is portrayed as peaceful; restful; enjoying the journey because Christ is present. Discontentment robs today of the abundant life and fullness of joy that Jesus promised (John 10:10, 15:11). I would like to say I’m striving for contentment, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how you get it. It’s kind of like seeking sleep—you don’t get it by working really hard, but by relaxing and letting go. (I’m not too good at that either.)
I find there is also a fine line between acceptance and apathy, and one can sometimes lead to the other. It’s okay to say, “God, I don’t much like this, but I trust that You are in control and I’m good with that.” However, it becomes a problem when you say, “This is never going to change and I give up!” That is not an indicator of trusting God but of bitterness and unbelief. In a sermon on Hebrews 4:1-11 John Piper stated,
“Fear the unbelief that will keep you from your promised rest (4:1). Do you see the great lesson here? The Christian life is a life of day by day, hour by hour trust in the promises of God to help us and guide us and take care of us and forgive us and bring us into a future of holiness and joy that will satisfy our hearts infinitely more than if we forsake him and put our trust in ourselves or in the promises of this world.”
My desire as I start the New Year is to find peace in the present moment. I’m not going to turn that into a resolution because that sounds too much like an exercise in futility. At this point, I’m not even sure what this will look like. It may require stopping some things—criticism, cynicism, and daydreaming—and replacing them with worship, prayer, and seeking God’s direction and wisdom. Perhaps a good question to ask is: What road am I looking for—mine or God’s?
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).
© 2016 Dawn Rutan. The views stated may or may not reflect the beliefs of the pastor or leadership of Dulin’s Grove Church.
