What is contentment? Now, before you read on to see what my definition is, please take a moment to think of (and/or write) your own definition. Now that you have a definition (you did think of a definition, right?) let’s talk about contentment. Consider Matthew 6:19–21 (English Standard Version): “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” As a child I often wondered about this passage. How exactly do you lay up treasures in heaven? Is it by being a missionary, by pursuing ministry opportunities? Does this verse mean that the regular work that we do—such as changing diapers, washing dishes, doing the laundry—has no eternal value? What is treasure in heaven, anyway? I heard one speaker say that our crown in heaven is based on how many souls we have won for Christ. By that standard, Noah does not have a very big crown. What then is the measure of our treasure in heaven?

But One Thing I Lack

It was a beautiful day. I was taking the children out for our daily walk. As my family grows, there are inevitable growing pains. In this case, three children could no longer fit in a stroller meant for two. We had tried to make do for a while, stuffing them into various (un) comfortable positions, but it was obvious that now was the time for the oldest child to walk. Being all of three years old, he was perfectly capable of walking. There was one problem: he did not want to walk. And he was protesting. I told him he could go ahead and cry, but we were going on a walk and he was going with us. And so, for the entire walk, he walked along crying at the top of his lungs. He had so many good things that day—sunny skies, good health, eyes to see, ears to hear, legs to walk with, and the company of his mom and siblings. What more could he want? And yet, the one thing denied—a ride in the stroller—caused him an exorbitant amount of grief and sorrow. It ruined the whole walk for him.

How often I am like a little child! I look at my life and see so many of God’s blessings—food to eat, clothes to wear, a house, a car, a husband, children—the list goes on and on. And yet I nitpick and find the one thing I don’t like (or more than one thing). Oftentimes it is something small. I wish I could have slept for more than two hours in a row last night! Other times it is something not so small. I wish I could have slept for more than two hours in a row any night in the past three months! And yet my focus is like that of a little child. I look at the one thing I am not given, and complain about it until it ruins my whole day . . . my whole week . . . my whole month. If I could learn a lesson from my children, it would be that contentment is often a choice. I can choose to dwell on what I don’t have, or I can choose to dwell on what I do have.

What or Who?

Contentment is often defined as being happy with what you have. And, as I have just described, this definition is true in one sense. Yet perhaps the part that we as Christians miss is the “who” of contentment. In the case with my son’s refusal to walk, he could have focused on the “what you have” of a beautiful day and physical strength. Or, he could have focused on the far more significant “who you have” of being with his mom and siblings. For us as believers, having Christ as our portion is the ground for true contentment. On any given day, I can list numerous physical blessings that God has given me. However, for many Christians, because of illness or persecution or poverty, such physical blessings are not theirs. True contentment is being happy with having Jesus Christ as our portion.

Suffering and Prison, or Freedom and Comfort?

Consider for a moment the life of Marie Durand.1 Born into a French Protestant household in 1711, Marie’s parents taught her biblical truths even though it was illegal. She was arrested the day before her nineteenth birthday simply because her brother was a Protestant minister. Newly engaged, she and her fiancé were both arrested and sent to different prisons. Although her fiancé was released after twenty years in prison, he was exiled from the country and Marie never saw him again. The Tower of Constance, where Marie was held prisoner, had an open hole in the ceiling and in the walls for windows, so the tower was either flooded or very humid. The firewood was wet, causing thick smoke to fill the room. The prisoners were often sick with malaria, rheumatism, and other illnesses. Marie was not released until the age of fifty-seven, after she had spent thirty-eight years in prison. Even after she was released, Marie had to deal with many troubles. Her cousins had taken over her farm and property, and she had to pay them a lot of money to get it back. By modern standards, Marie’s life was a complete failure. Yet though she was frequently given the option to renounce her faith and go free, she knew that God was her portion, even in prison, and she chose suffering and prison with him rather than freedom and comfort without him.

Many Christians even today languish in prison, sickness, deprivation, loneliness, darkness, and forced labor. If my contentment is merely “be happy with what you have,” it will fail me in my darkest hour. However, if my contentment is “be happy with who you have,” then it can sustain me.

Do You Know Your God?

Now we get to the obvious question, “Whom do I have?” Modern American Christianity says, “I love you, Jesus!” Yet how many know much about Jesus? Let me rephrase that. How much do you know about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? The Bible teaches us to meditate on God, on his Word, and on his wonderful works. An excellent example of this meditation is Psalm 18. Written by David, Psalm 18 starts with, “I love you, O Lord,” but it doesn’t end there. David teaches us to meditate on the Lord with eleven character qualities of God listed in the first three verses. Then, as the psalm progresses, each section contains even more in-depth meditation—way more than I am in the habit of doing! David wants us to delight in God even in the midst of our trials. So often our response to trials is, “Lord, please deliver me—as soon as possible!”

However, immediate deliverance is often not God’s plan. Rather, he comes to us in our trials and shows us his sufficiency. In Psalm 18, as in many other psalms, David takes his time and lists many facets of each aspect of God’s character. For example, verse 13 starts with “The Lord also thundered in the heavens.” David then writes at least eleven (depending on how you count) more details about what the thundering was like and what the results were. I fear that many of us either downplay who God is, or we never think deeply about him. If we do not spend time thinking about God, we should not be surprised that trials so quickly shake our faith. Do we know who our God is? Being content with Christ as our portion means that we need to value him above all else, and we cannot do that if we do not know who he is.

If you have never meditated before, or if the idea of Christian meditation is new to you, I would encourage you to start with the Psalms. The Psalms are filled with meditations about God’s character and works. They take the time to explore fully things that we tend to skip over. Try memorizing a psalm, and take a verse or concept each day that you can come back to and think about when you are working or eating or resting. Also, use things that you see each day to turn your thoughts toward God and heaven. Seeing the ocean can remind you of God’s great power and his eternity.

Here is a recent meditation I had about eternity. Thinking about eternity helps me to see my own frailty and how soon I will be gone and forgotten like those who have gone before. In light of that, how can I complain about the cross that I have to bear? Maybe my cross is just the stupidity of others in my life making my own life difficult. I am highly annoyed that I have to deal with these difficulties; perhaps this is an indication that I am putting myself first? Maybe the people around me aren’t being that stupid; they just aren’t putting my preferences first (i.e., they are not making me their personal idol). Which means that I have made myself my own personal idol and I need to repent.

I may have the opportunity to hear many sermons or read many Christian books. However, if I never think about spiritual things and apply them to my life, all my hearing and reading is in vain. The Puritan James Ussher said, “One hour spent thus [in meditation] is worth more than a thousand sermons, and this is no debasing of the word, but an honor unto it.”2 Meditation should always spur us on to growth in grace and godliness.

Heaven’s Chief Treasure

Biblically, storing up our treasure in heaven means that we are developing our love for God. Because God is heaven’s chief joy, the more we delight in him now, the more delight we will have in heaven. We can turn our thoughts to God no matter what our occupation is. No matter what our circumstance. No matter what trials we endure. No matter what kind of death we have to die.

Are you content? Do you have Christ as your portion? Christ endured the darkest moment of abandonment that is possible on this earth. And he endured it for me. He promises to be with me in the seasons of joy as well as grief, on the sunny days as well as the days when the light is darkened by the clouds. He will never leave me nor forsake me. His death and resurrection guarantee my own. And so I can say with Paul, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. . . . I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied” (Phil. 4:11, 18).

1. The following information is taken from Simonetta Carr, Marie Durand (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2015).

2. James Ussher, Meditation, 43, as quoted in David W. Saxton, God’s Battle Plan for the Mind (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2015), 6.

Vanessa Le is a wife and mom to four children age five and under. She enjoys reading, playing the piano, studying theology, and generally being Mommy. She is a member of Orlando Reformed Presbyterian Church in Orlando, FL.