How many people do you know who suffer from a restlessness that makes them so disconnected they fall into depression or they just give up on life? I know quite a few and I am sure you do too. In fact, I have been there myself- not a very nice place to be!
Contentment is a precious thing, but how can we find it?
Here are some ideas that I have found that can help us to maintain contentment and happiness.
Firstly, we need to watch our self talk. Anything negative will bring us down while positive self-talk will lift our spirits. A regular positive affirmative is to say ‘I am content and happy’ will change our attitude and will open our eyes to the beauty around us so we can enjoy the moment. When we speak to ourselves in a negating way and not trusting and believing in our own abilities we get nothing but negative feedback.
Secondly, don’t cling onto things that will pass. The Apostle Paul a very positive person, said that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6). Besides, “we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world”. I think that this verse puts everything into the right perspective for us. It also shows that we don’t really ‘own’ anything. When we leave permanently, we can’t take anything with us. We work hard all our lives and then when we leave it to someone else. In talking of a rich owner, Ecclesiastes 5:15 says, “As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.” The idea of bringing nothing into the world was self-evident for the Apostle Paul when he gave his instruction to the young Timothy. Theologian Jack Wellman pointed out that Paul had a secret about contentedness, and he shared it with us in the book of Timothy, he said ‘To begin with, a world without Christ can never be content. There is a discontentedness that lies in the heart of every human being, and that vacuum of discontent can only be filled by God’s Spirit. When the Spirit of God enters into a person, He regenerates them into a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), and they move from being dead in their sins, to being alive through Christ (2 Cor 5:17).’ I think we fail to find true contentment, which is really deep happiness because we cling to those things that rot away or breakdown and then we strive to get more and more and more, so the cycle continues, and we come up empty every time.
Thirdly, trust and believe in God in Jesus Christ. Trusting in God is not old fashioned but rather a very ancient and modern thing to do. It helps us to be truly human and to find out who we really are and what our purpose is. Instead of trusting in those things that will eventually fall way, trust in the solid rock -Jesus Christ, and this a very cool thing to do!
So let’s give it our best shot!
- Self talk positive affirmations every day
- Don’t cling onto things that will pass.
- Believe & trust in God & in yourself
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Hope. Faith. Love. 