Lindsey Tollefson is a mother and homemaker in Moscow, ID
Learning to be content and completely satisfied in Christ is certainly a life-long process and a lesson that we are always learning, and always being tested on. As I am learning and wrestling against discontent, I am always looking for practical and tangible ways to set my course towards joy and peace.
In his book The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, the puritan Jeremiah Burroughs gives many recommendations for how to achieve a content heart. While he has many wise things to say and many of his ideas have influenced my list, I would like to offer my own version of steps that we can take to stay on course and to be continually growing in contentment.
Read the rest of part I at Theopolis
“There are many difficulties in life that have no end on this earth. There are struggles and pain that we know will always be with us. This is hard and it can make it particularly hard to find peace and contentment with our life when we have these burdens. But the good news is that it is possible to find contentment even in the midst of these hardships. Paul says that he had a thorn which the Lord refused to take from him.” (excerpt from part I)
Continue reading part II of the essay here
“There is no aspect of our lives that God has not redeemed and that He has not given us a reason to hope in. There is no relationship so broken that He cannot heal, there is no sickness that he cannot cure, there is no poverty that He cannot provide for. Even in our darkest and hardest days He has a promise for us from Isaiah 43, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.'” (excerpt from part II)
Learning Contentment is an essay that was originally posted at the Theopolis Institute blog in two parts. It is reprinted here by permission
