How To (And How To Not) Find Contentment

1. When Discontentment Helps

A. “Think About It”

“By the studying of thy heart, thou wilt come presently to discover wherein thy discontent lies.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 56

“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.” (Haggai 1:4–6)

“When the heart of a man hath nothing to do but to be busy about Creature-comforts, every little thing troubles him; but now, when the heart is taken up with the weighty thoughts of Eternity, the great things of Eternal Life, the heart being taken up with them, these things that are here below, that did disquiet it before, are things now of no consideration with him, in comparison to the other, so as how things fall out here is not much regarded with him, if the One thing that is Necessary be provided for.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 52

B. “The One My Soul So Long Has Craved”

“I abandoned you to pursue the lowest things of your creation. I was dust going to dust.” St. Augustine, Confessions, 1.13.21

“You made us for Yourself, oh Lord, and our heart is restless, until it repose in You.” St. Augustine, Confessions, 1.1.1

“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” (John 4:13–15)

“So the woman left her water jar and went away into town.” (John 4:28)

2. Getting The Cart Before The Horse: The Ways We Get Contentment Backwards

A. Outside In vs. Inside Out

“The being content upon some external thing, it is like the warming of a mans clothes by the fire; but being content by the inward disposition of the soul, it is like the warmth that a mans clothes hath from the natural heat of his body.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 8

“If I am contented because I have that that I have a desire to, perhaps I am contented in that one particular, but that one particular doth not furnish me with Contentment in another thing; but if I have once overcome my heart, and am contented through the grace of God in my heart, then this doth not content me only in a particular, but in general, whatsoever befalls me.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 76

B. More is More vs. Less is More

A Christian comes to Contentment, not so much by way of Addition, as by way of Subtraction, that is his way of Contentment, and that is a way that the world hath no skill in. I open it thus, Not so much by the adding to what he would have, or to what he hath, not by adding more to his condition, but rather by subtracting of his desires, and so to make his desires and condition to be even and equal.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 20.

“Certainly, our Contentment doth not consist in the getting of the thing we desire, but in God fashioning our spirits to our conditions.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 75.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:6–10)

“Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8–9)

C. Our Many Needs vs. Our Greatest Need

“That Soul that is capable of God, can be filled with nothing else but God; nothing but God can fill a Soul that is capable of God.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 19.

“I must have the peace of God: But suppose you have the peace of God, Will not that quiet you? No, I must have the God of peace, as the peace of God, so the God of peace, that is I must enjoy that God that gives me the peace, I must have the Cause as well as the Effect; I must see from whence my peace comes, and enjoy the fountain of my peace, as well as the stream of my peace; and so in other mercies.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 19.

“My Brethren, the reason why you have not Contentment in the things of the world, it is not because you have not enough of them, that’s not the reason, but the reason is, Because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God Himself.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 49.

“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41–42)

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

D. My Comfort Come vs. Your Kingdom Come

“You all say, you should submit to Gods will; but a Christian hath gotten beyond this; that is, he can make Gods will and his to be the same.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 25.

“If God have glory, I have glory, Gods glory is my glory, and therefore Gods will is mine; if God have riches, then I have riches; if God be magnified, then I am magnified; if God be satisfied, then I am satisfied; Gods wisdom and holiness is mine, and therefore his will must needs be mine, and my Will must needs be his.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 26.

“In active obedience, there we Worship God by doing that that pleases God, but by passive obedience, we do as well Worship God by being pleased with that which God doth.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 69.

3. How To Get Contentment:

A. Ask (and then ask again…and again)

God is thus far mercifully indulgent to our weakness, and he will not take it ill at our hands, if by earnest and importunate prayer we seek unto him for deliverance, till we know his good pleasure therein. And certainly thus seeking for help with such a submission, and holy resignation of spirit, to be delivered when God will, and as God will, and how God will, so that our wills are melted into the will of God, this is no opposition to the quietness which God requires in a contented spirit. Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 4.

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”” (Luke 18:1–8)

B. Wait

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13–14)

While we wait:

1. Stop Listening to Ourselves; Start Talking To Ourselves

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” (Psalm 43:5)

“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself, ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been repressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you’. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’–what business have you to be disquieted?” D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures, pp. 20-21

2. Convincing Our Souls of the Goodness of God

“Every good thing the people of God do enjoy, they enjoy it in Gods love, as a token of Gods love, and coming from Gods eternal love unto them, this must needs be very sweet unto them.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 28.

“The afflictions of Gods people comes from the same eternal love that Jesus Christ did come from.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 30.

3. The Gift of Lament

“Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.” [ . . . ] Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.” (1 Samuel 1:13–18)

4. Doing Good Where God Has Placed Us

“Perhaps they are gotten upon an hill, and they look a good way off and see another hill, & they think if they were on the top of that, then they were able to touch the clouds with their fingers; but when they are on the top of that hill, alas, then they are as far from the clouds, as they were before. No, no, let me consider what is the duties of my present condition, and content my heart with this, and say, Well, though I am in a low condition, yet I am serving the Counsels of God in that condition wherein I am; it is the Counsel of God that hath brought me into this condition that I am in, and I desire to serve the Counsel of God in that condition.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 25.

6. Counting Our Blessings

“Didst not thou pray to God for these mercies that God hath sent of late to the public, these great victories that God hath given, didst not thou pray for them? now thou hast them, is not there enough in them to quiet thy heart for some private trouble thou meetest withall in thy family?” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 103.

“Though I cannot know what your afflictions are, yet I know what your mercies are, and I know they are so great, as I am sure there can be no afflictions in this World so great, as the mercies you have: If it were but this mercy, That you have this day of grace and salvation continued to you, it is a greater mercy than any affliction, set any affliction by this mercy, and see which would weigh heaviest, this is certainly greater than any affliction; that you have the day of grace and salvation, that you are not now in Hell, this is a greater mercy, that you have the sound of the Gospel yet in your ears, that you have the use of your reason, this is a greater mercy than your afflictions; that you have the use of your limbs, your senses, that you have the health of your bodies, health of body is a greater mercy than poverty is an affliction; there is no man that is rich, but if he be wise, if he hath a sickly body, he would part with all his riches that he might have his health; therefore thy mercies are more than thy afflictions.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 103-104.

7. Remembering the Gospel

“If he wants outward comforts, good cheer, feasting, a good Conscience is a continual feast, he can make up the want of a feast by that peace he hath in his own Conscience: if he wants melodies abroad, he hath a bird within him, that sings the most melodious songs that are in the world, and the most delightful.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 39.

“The greatest burden is the wickedness of their own hearts.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 41.

8. Drawing Comfort from Christ’s Sympathy

“What is my affliction? Is it poverty that God strikes me withal? Jesus Christ had not a house to hide his head in; the Fowls of the air had nests, and the Foxes had holes, but the Son of Man not a hole to hide his head in: now my poverty is sanctified by Christs poverty, I can see by faith the curse and sting and venom of my poverty, taken out by the poverty of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus he was poor in this World to deliver me from the curse of my poverty, that it should not be cursed unto me, then my poverty is not afflictive, if I can be contented in such a condition. That is the way, not to stand and repine, because I have not what others have, no, but I am poor, and Christ was therefore poor, that he might bless my poverty to me.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 30.

“A gracious heart hath contentment by fetching strength from Jesus Christ, he is able to bear his burden by fetching strength from another.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 32.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14–16)

9. Enjoying God’s Good World

“Grace doth shew a man, that what he hath, he hath it on free cost, from God as from a Father, and therefore must needs be very sweet.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 28.

“Though there be a vanity in the Creature in its self, in respect of satisfying the soul for its portion, yet there is some goodness in the Creature, though there be a vanity, there is some desirableness: but wherein doth that consist? It consists not in the nature of the Creature itself, for that is nothing but vanity; but it consists in the reference it hath to the first-being of all things” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 54.

“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12–13)

10. Remember God’s Promises

“There is no condition that a godly man or woman can be in, but there is some Promise or other in the Scripture to help him in that condition. And that’s the way of his Contentment, to go out to the Promises, and fetch from the Promise, that which may supply.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 36.

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”” (Lamentations 3:19–24)

11. Remember Future Hope

“One drop of the sweetness of Heaven, is enough to take away all the sower and bitter of all the afflictions in the world.” Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 45.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)