Someone told me, “Finding true contentment in prison is like finding water in the desert.” Finding true contentment, however, can be tough no matter where you are.
“How do you do it?” my cellmate asked me from the top bunk as I listened to my radio.
“What did you say?” I said, as I took out my ear buds.
“How do you do it?” he said. “You look so content all the time, listening to your radio, reading your Bible or writing your articles. You always seem content like nothing bothers you. How do you do it?”
“One word: Faith,” I said.
“Faith? You mean believing in a God you cannot see or hear?”
“You can see Him. You have to open your eyes. People who cannot see God are like a fish swimming in the ocean denying the existence of water. You cannot see God because you won’t open your eyes. And you cannot hear Him because your ears are plugged up. Unplug your ears and listen with your heart. God speaks through His Word to those who listen with their heart.”
“True contentment is not getting what you want but being satisfied with what you have.”
“What do I have in prison to be satisfied with?” my cellmate asked.
“Life. It’s your most valuable gift,” I said.
“You mean the life sentence the judge gave me was a gift?” he laughed.
That’s right, because as long as you live there’s hope that you will find true contentment in the only One it can be found in – Jesus Christ.”
In a world full of loneliness, despair, and rejection, the truth is, only with Christ can we find true contentment. With our ears we hear and listen to God and with our eyes we see His wondrous creation. But when our ears and eyes are closed because of the things in the world that surround us with temptation and sin, we become blind and deaf to the things of God.
When our ears are open and sensitive to His voice, the voice of truth, then everything false will disappear and His Word will fill our heart.
When our eyes are open, “the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3) Wherever we look in the world around us, we will see evidence of His glory. Even in a prison cell God reveals His glory as I watch a spider weave its web to catch a fly. Or a mouse slips underneath my cell door to eat some crackers I left open in my locker. The amazing thing is that sin has damaged God’s creation that surrounds us. (Romans 8:18-22) Yet, God’s creative hand can still be seen everywhere. It serves as a reminder that His grace covers our sins and that His love for the fallen is always available to us.
In this day and age, talk of conforming to God’s way is often viewed critically. That’s why people fail to find true contentment and their lives are marked with a haunting sense of meaninglessness and despair.
The writer of Psalm 1 says that a blessed life comes from “delighting in the Law of the Lord, and in meditating on it day and night.” (Psalm 1:2) It does not come by “walking in the counsel of the ungodly, standing in the path of sinners, or sitting in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1)
God’s Word is not meant to take the fun out of life. But it is derived from God’s wisdom to help us find true contentment and avoid the mistakes of reckless living. It gives strength for the journey and helps us realize that we are never alone. “I am with you always even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
We may lose sight of family and friends but we always know that God is walking beside us. Sin obscures the contentment of life that God wants us to enjoy. Sometimes our selfishness makes us see ourselves as more important than we are and causes us to forget the interest of others. And the injustice of others can prevent us from seeing the goodness of God. Sin of any kind, however, can take away our contentment and keep us from seeing life as God designed it. But when we focus on Christ, we see things clearly and are able to have true contentment.
Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
By faith I believe this promise is true. And when you know that God’s Son sets us free from our sins to live with Him forever, finding true contentment is available wherever you are.
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