Contentment: “Feeling or manifesting satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation.” In that definition, the “manifesting” jumped out at me. We don’t always feel content, but what if we manifested contentment? Wouldn’t that be a witness that we trust the Lord to be able to use us in the current situation, even if we’d prefer it to be different? How must it look to nonbelievers when we say “I hate my job” or “I don’t have enough money”? The apostle Paul couldn’t have been happy in a number of his circumstances (beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, and more) but said, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. . . . I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12, 13). It’s not hypocritical to, as Dr. Phil has said, “behave your way through” something. As I talk with people who are desperate (and noisy) to have their circumstances changed (and I’ve been guilty too), I’m pondering what would happen if all believers manifested contentment and gave the Lord a little more credit for what he’s doing NOW, rather than announcing what we think he should be doing.
