Being Happy: Some Thoughts on Contentment……

Now and then it's good to pause inour pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

There is something profoundly annoying about the words “be happy”. I mean, if contentment was that easy, we'd all have it, am I right? Well, things that are simple aren't always easy├ö├ç┬¬ but I think it's safe to say that happiness isn't really as hard to get as we think. I'm definitely not an expert on being happy, but lately I did a Bible study on contentment and, according to the Scripture, contentment seems to be a matter of perspective.……Job 20:20 speaks of a worldly man, and it says: “Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his prosperity will not endure.” ……This verse is talking about a man who was not satisfied with what he had. He “knew no contentment”. He pursued every delight, not letting any escape him. But then after he consumed it all, it was gone and there was nothing left. And the dissatisfaction remained even when every delight has been consumed. Nothing could quench his lack of contentment. Why?……Committed to Contentment……It seems that contentment requires a certain level of “commitment to happiness”. This might be why commitment-phobes (like myself) tend to be discontent. A commitment-phobe thinks “I am not content with this [job, location, relationship] and therefore I need to find another one that I can be content with, and then I'll be able to commit to it”. But this thinking is entirely backward. It is the commitment itself, not the quality of the thing committed to, that enables contentment. As a friend once told me, we should be satisfied with the “right now good things” instead of looking to “future good things” or longing for “past good things”. ……Contentment is included among the most important principles of life.

And they are brotherly love, hospitality, compassion, sexual purity, and freedom from the love of money. It is one of the practices or mental states that the Bible says will contribute to a happy and healthy life.

Hebrews 13:1-5…"Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies. Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery. Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."

"He will never leave us or forsake us." That is the ultimate reason to be content. If we have the Lord, it follows that we lack nothing else. He is committed to us, and invites us to find satisfaction in being committed to Him. He promises that anything we feel we lack, any unfulfilled longing or sorrow, ultimately turns to joy when it is submitted to His love and comfort. When our senses and our human understanding say “follow your heart” we must hear Him saying "follow Me" and do that instead. We must believe that He is not lying to us when He says

Proverbs 3:1-2.

“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you”This is natural for some of us, and for others it is more of a struggle. Thankfully, the Lord has promised to give us anything we want, provided it is in His will

John 14:14,

Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

and contentment definitely qualifies as something that is in His will. ……Contentment for The Weak……In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10,

This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don't know-only God knows. Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but I'm not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won't do it, because I don't want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul speaks about his thorn in the flesh, that thing that was bothering him and making him dependent on Christ. He pleaded with God that God would take this thorn away, but the Lord replied: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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.” ……For the sake of Christ├ö├ç┬¬ what does that mean? It means we are willing to bear weakness so that Christ's power will be shown in our lives. It means we so love to see God's work that we can regard even our weaknesses and hardships through the eyes of contentment ├ö├ç├┤ that state of happiness and satisfaction. This seems impossible, but if you think about the events of your own life, I think you'll find it isn't. Every Christian I know can point to a time when through their pain or weakness, temptations or trials, God's love and work became so evident that the joy eclipsed the pain. …

Colossians 1:11-14…"May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

…Endurance and patience with joy is a good way to express this feeling. Weakness helps us see beyond this world, when we see through the eyes of contentment. ……Like the man in Job 20:20,They were always greedy and never satisfied. …Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.

Continually consuming delights is the only option that the people of this world have. They must pursue pleasure endlessly, even when it is ultimately unsatisfying. They have no choice, without Christ. But we do have a choice. When the world says "follow your heart" we can choose to follow Him, in the opposite direction. And with each step is promised us a growing and increasingly satisfying contentment. ……So follow God today. And be happy.