Several years ago, my family and I were throwing a football around at a park near our house. For some reason, we were standing on a sand volleyball court as we played catch. It wasn’t long before my wife looked down at her hand and noticed that her engagement ring had fallen off of her finger. We all immediately froze and then slowly walked over to my wife and began sifting through the sand with our hands. We could not find the ring. After some brief moments of panic, I remembered that there was a gentleman from our church who mentioned to me that he owned a metal detector. I gave him a call and he graciously came to the park and found the ring buried beneath the sand in a matter of minutes. The metal detector accomplished what we only hoped to accomplish by sifting through the sand with our hands.

Looking for contentment outside of God is like aimlessly sifting through the sands of this world for something that can’t be found in the things of this world. I once read a book by Jeremiah Burroughs (A Puritan) titled “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment”[1]. The title alone is incredibly insightful. It suggests that contentment is valuable and is something that must be sought out. The problem is, we are tempted to look for contentment in things that can never satisfy, rather than in God. Burroughs recognized this. Consider this sentence:

         “And truly a contented man, though he is most contented in the world, is the most dissatisfied man in the world; that is; those things that will satisfy the world, will not satisfy him.” (pg. 44-45)

That is a jewel of a sentence. True contentment is found beyond the things of this world. We were created for more. We were created to find contentment, joy and satisfaction in God. Psalm 73:25-26 says, “Whom have I in haven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you. My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and portion forever.” Burroughs draws on these verses to point out that, “If God gave you not only earth but heaven, that you should rule over the sun, moon and stars, and have the rule over the highest of the sons of men, it would not be enough to satisfy you, unless you had God himself.” (pg. 44)

True contentment is found in God. Passages like Psalm 73:25-26 act like a metal detector directing our hearts to find our contentment in him.  Contentment is something we have to learn (Phil. 4:11) but it is also something that can be found (Phil. 4:12-13) if we look for it in the right place. Where are you looking for contentment today?

I commend Burroughs work to you. If you are like me, you won’t remember everything you read in the book, and you may have to read certain sentences a couple of times to understand it. But you also may find a bible-soaked jewel that is good for your soul as you sift through its pages.

Link: https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/the-rare-jewel-of-christian-contentment/

[1] Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, Carlisle PA, Banner of Truth Trust (2005)