Contentment, singleness etc

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Paul, Philippians 4:11-13)

We're asked to do all sorts of good things in our Christian lives. Sometimes these things come easily - perhaps God made us a naturally generous person or our family lived that way. But often we have to fight for the good. My guess is that contentment can be one of God's more elusive demands. Of course, I'm thinking here of contentment where your circumstances are not as you would have them, or indeed when things are very bad.

It's not normal to be content when things are bad and you're looking them full in the face. It's found in God and is given by him. And sometimes he teaches you to trust him by witholding the circumstances that could so easily make you happy and sometimes by witholding the happiness itself for a time. He does this, not out of capriciousness or to be cruel, but because there are things that we are slow to learn in the good times, when we can so easily turn our attention elsewhere. Things we can only experience once we really do come to know and trust our God. Things that will bring us great, deep, lasting joy.

So I think that if, unlike our brother Paul, you don't feel content in every situation, then you should fight for it. You should pray sincerely for it and keep on praying til you receive it. You should do what you can to get it - working hard to get to know your Father, reminding yourself of all the compassionate, big-hearted, mighty things God has done for you, including allowing the murder of his Son.

But contentment doesn't mean you have to be pleased with your circumstances. The same man who wrote the lines above also urged slaves not to let their servitude trouble them, but added: "if you can gain your freedom, do so" (1 Corinthians 7:21). So if, say, your heart aches in your singleness, find contentment in God, keep looking out for a man, and don't pretend it doesn't hurt. This is what godliness looks like in this messy time when evil and brokenness have been conquered but not yet purged.