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By Jared Green
In Horatio Spafford’s famous hymn, It Is Well, we sing the words, “Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’” We would love to always be able to utter the words “it is well” and truly mean them. In a world full of competition and constant busyness, however, true contentment is hard to come by.
Paul teaches the importance of contentment throughout his letters. Writing to Timothy, for example, he says, “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” (1 Timothy 6:6-8). When Paul fervently prayed that God heal his thorn in the flesh, God answered: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). The result? Contentment. Paul told the Corinthians, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
When comparing the Bible’s teaching on contentment to the temptation to continually seek more in this world, what is the basis for true contentment? How can we become like Paul? The Bible teaches that our contentment is rooted in the good news of God’s grace and what he has done for us. One of the greatest examples of biblical contentment is found in the prophet Simeon in Luke 2.
Luke tells us that Simeon was a righteous and devout man, and that he was waiting for Israel’s deliverance, like so many other Jews during his time. Unlike other Jews, however, the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). One day, Simeon was led by God into the temple, and he saw baby Jesus, who had been brought to the temple to be presented to the Lord. Upon seeing Jesus and remembering the Spirit’s promise that he would see the Messiah, Simeon took Jesus into his arms and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word” (Luke 2:29). It seems that Simeon is saying, “Now that I have seen Jesus, I can die!” I can think of no greater contentment than feeling as though I’ve gotten all I ever needed from this life and am ready for the next.
The question is, why was Simeon so immediately content upon seeing Jesus? In his own words, “…for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30). For Simeon, life’s greatest contentment came upon seeing the good news of God’s grace firsthand. May we all seek true contentment. God loves you, and so do I.
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