Austin's Blog

Those walking through suffering and grieving its ghastly presence often resign themselves to simply surviving. But we are not called to mere survival, but contentment. What is contentment? Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs described it this way, “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

Christian contentment is not circumstantial. It is not based on how we feel, but on our submission to the all-wise, sovereign will of God. Our contentment flows from the reality that Christ’s sustaining presence rests upon us—even in our darkest moments. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “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.”

The weaknesses of life, the sufferings Paul endured, became the very means by which he relied solely on Christ, who proved Himself faithful. The arena for Christ’s helping hand was Paul’s weakness. He gained more of Christ. Therefore, he was content in suffering.

In another well-known passage, Paul remarks, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:11–13). The source of our contentment is the empowering presence of the risen Christ, who strengthens His people. He is enough. He is the source of our hope, our strength, and our joy.

Such contentment is truly supernatural, having its divine origin in God. It does something within us—but it also speaks powerfully to the watching world. Andrew M. Davis writes, “Our contentment in the face of harm, uncertainty, even devastation, can be a light to a hurting and even angry world. There is no time in a Christian’s weary and painful pilgrimage to heaven when contentment is so precious and yet so hard to come by as during times of suffering. The greater the suffering, the more this divine and supernatural contentment will be vital to our souls, glorifying to God, and fruitful in eternity. Such forging is accomplished through difficulty and pain.”

If you are walking through that vale of tears so common to life under the sun, seek His face and His sustaining hand. Pray that the Lord would give you a heart of contentment—one that sees Him as the source, the means, and the goal of your life. As you rest in Him, contentment will come even in and through the suffering.