Transition and Contentment

So it seems like everyone I know (including me) is in a 'transition' phase of life. You know, a "what next?" period of life. Come to think of it, it seems life is mostly filled with these different types of transitions. From being a kid, to a teenager, to a college student, to having a career, to NOT having a career, to having another career, to having a family, to letting go of selfish ambitions, and on and on. Some of these happen slowly, others way too quickly. What do we do with them? How do we react?

In most of these transitions there is a tinge of discontent. We aren't really content where we are so we move to be somewhere else, or someone else. Or is it that we move because we aren't comfortable? There is a distinct difference in being content and being comfortable. Contentment doesn't depend on comfort. Comfort often leads to complacency. Complacency leads us nowhere.


Paul said that he had learned the secret of being "content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (Philippians 4:12, NIV) Paul certainly wasn't comfortable where he was when he wrote this, but he had a contentment that went beyond circumstances. Contentment isn't about things, or even people, but about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we understand who God is, who we are, and what God's plans are for us, we can be content in any situation.

Last summer I spent 11 long days in the Dominican Republic leading worship on a mission trip. It wasn't comfortable at all. The food wasn't that great, it was sticky hot, the water pressure in the shower was a notch above squirt gun, the shower only worked when the electricity was on, and the electricity seemed to go off and on whenever it felt like it. I really struggled with this being so far from home for so long. I was completely cut off from life back home. I couldn't just call my friends and complain about the circumstances and enjoy a good laugh. Plus it was the end of summer and I was super tired.

I learned then that I have a tendency to want to move when something isn't going my way or life isn't comfortable. Only this time there was nowhere for me to go except God. But He used that situation to teach me contentment. I had to rely on God, who He is, and what His word said about me.

There are other times we move because we have a sense that there is something more, something bigger that God has in store for us to do. I think God uses this divine discontent to get us moving in the right direction. This is a good thing. My challenge to anyone in this divine discontent is to follow God. There is a really cool picture of this in the last chapter of Exodus. "Whenever the Cloud lifted from the Dwelling, the People of Israel set out on their travels, but if the cloud did not lift, they wouldn't set out until it did lift." (Exodus 40:36-37, MSG) When God's presence moved, they moved. When God sat still, they sat still, no matter how long. That's true contentment.

If we are following comfort, we are following our own selfishness. True contentment comes from following God. Who are we following?

-heath