(What Three Miserable Days Taught Me About Contentment)

Would you believe me if I told you I was typing this newsletter with my eyes closed, lying horizontal, my wrists bent at awkward 90-degree angles as I try to type these words?

Because I am.

Spell check is really going to earn its paycheck today, y’all. Because I am not looking at one singular key as I clack away aimlessly.

Why? 

Well, my tiniest kiddo started kindergarten, and I’m pretty sure he brought home the kindergarten YUCK.

Which means I’ve been horizontal for days on end—head pounding, nose running like a faucet.

I know. I know.

EWW.

Sorry for the gross visual.

But I suppose I wanted to give you an accurate picture of how my life is right now.

Because it’s a great analogy for life. Life can be so gross like this, right?

And sickly. And painful. And, sometimes, just plain miserable.

But what I’ve been mulling over these last few days as I’ve been lying in bed can be summarized in one singular word:

Gratitude.

Because what I’ve realized is what a huge blessing sickness is because it reveals so much more than health does.

It uncovers one unchanging truth: my God is good and taking care of me better than I realize.

Because there’s something about sickness that finally reveals what a blessing it is to be healthy.

For how would I ever know how wonderful it is to feel healthy unless I had the visceral experience of becoming sick?

How would I know how great it is to exercise regularly unless that ability was suddenly stripped away?

How would I know how wonderful it is that I get to pick up my kids from school and enthusiastically ask them about their day unless I suddenly couldn’t?

The strange irony of pain, sickness, and hardship in our lives is that until we experience them, we often don’t experience gratitude to the depth that we should.

Or maybe that’s just me.

Perhaps I’m too whiny. Too ungrateful. Too selfish to recognize all that I’ve been given.

My ungrateful, sinful self doesn’t seem to muster up the proper level of gratitude until something is temporarily taken away.

Then, all of a sudden, I realize:Oh wow. I should have been grateful for that the whole time.

Over these last few days, I’ve had a particular verse that I memorized a few years ago cycling through my mind:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

Isn’t that one of the wildest verses you’ve ever read?

Paul says that if we have just two simple things—food and clothing—we can be content.

Just food.

And clothing.

That’s it.

And when you stop and think about that for a minute, it’s almost absurd how much more most of us have.

Last time I checked, I not only have food and clothing each day, but I have about a billion other things, too.

Internet and a computer in my own house.

A body that functions well.

Access to vitamins and medicine.

A husband and kids who love me.

Heat and air conditioning.

Toys for our kids.

A car.

A bed.

Clean water.

I have been given more than enough.

But what’s even more wild is the first part of the verse:

“Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

I think many of us get stuck on the godliness part.

We know we should focus on our relationship with Christ.

We know we should be generous with our resources and our time.

We know we should be kind and shine the light of Christ to others.

But sometimes we get so caught up in the godliness part that we forget the contentment part.

I’ve known a lot of grumpy Christians in my time.

Heck, sometimes I can be that grumpy Christian…

The one who has it all.

The one who has grown close to Christ.

And yet somehow remains dissatisfied, always looking for more.

Sigh. I really am just a sinner saved by grace, y’all.

Yet Paul tells us to pursue both.

Not just godliness.

Godliness AND contentment.

And it’s crazy to me that I had to get knocked flat on my back for three days to remember how critical this is.

So I knew I had to bring it to you in this week’s devotional.

I want to strongly exhort you: Please don’t wait until you’re knocked on your back to learn contentment like I did.

Choose contentment today.

Ask God to help you get there.

Look around at what you have.

And thank Him for it.

Because do you have food?

Do you have clothing?

Then, according to Paul, you have enough to be content.

For anything beyond that is probably that “extra stuff” that Paul writes we can’t take out of this world anyway.

Does that mean we never ask God for more?

Of course not!

Our Father loves to give us good gifts. (Matt 7:11)

Further, he knows that sometimes we really are struggling and really need His help beyond just the “food and clothing” level.

But the verse isn’t addressing our very real, very felt needs.

The verse is addressing our contentment levels.

And that is where our heart needs to be focused: on contentment, even before we receive the answer to our prayer request.

Contentment even before we see His hand.

Contentment even when the circumstances are hard.

Contentment even when we are still begging God to turn it all around.

Being content doesn’t mean nothing is wrong…after all, we live in a sinful, broken world, and things will always be wrong. 

Incomplete.

 Painful, at times.

 But contentment means we keep coming back to the joy we find in Christ, knowing that He is working everything out for our good (Romans 8:28) in His time, making all things beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

So I pray for you that this week—even right now—you would feel a deep sense of contentment wash over you as you intentionally take some time to thank your Father for giving you more blessings than your hands can contain. 

And I pray that gratitude would swell within your heart as you trust that He will address the unmet needs in your life, too. 

But regardless of what He chooses to give or withhold, I pray that contentment would overwhelm you as you realize just how incredibly good your God has been to you.

Until next time,

Liz

P.S. Y’ALLLLLL. I have some BIG news!

Some of you have been with me for a while, and you may remember praying for me to get an agent at that conference. And then I got an agent! And some of you have been praying ever since that a publisher would take notice of little ol’ me.

WELP.

A publisher asked to read my FULL MANUSCRIPT.

This is a huge deal, y’all.

Granted, they may read it and still decide it’s not a good fit for their publishing company. And that’s okay. The Lord’s plans will be done.

But y’allllll.

I am really praying that this is the open door we’ve been asking for—that this next book will get to see the light of day.

Will you please join me in praying for this? 

I deeply need the covering of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I would be tremendously grateful if you would join me in praying for this miracle!!!

P.S.S. On that note of prayer, what do YOU need prayer for?

As always, I would be more than happy to pray for you. Just reply to this email and I will pray for you, too.

P.S.S.S. Some of you let me know that my last newsletter ended up in your S P A M folder.

BOOOO.

If that happened to you, the best thing you can do to make sure you receive my future devotionals is to go to your s p a m folder and move that email to your regular inbox. That should help your email provider learn that you actually want to hear from me.

Apparently talking about the hot topic of depression in that last email was enough to get me sent to s p a m?!

Who knows.

P.S.S.S.S. Wow. Lots of postscripts today!

If you want to memorize the verse I wrote about in this newsletter–“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, then we will be content with that”—go here and memorize it in less than 5 minutes! https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LqywZHVxAjjHu1pO0NKEE?si=19WYZFp9S-yo7utzHwoNFw