Finding Contentment

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? Deuteronomy 4:7

When our kids were 9 and 10, we took a family trip out to the Black Hills in western South Dakota. We had a great time, but I can vividly remember that on the way back, while I was pumping gas, this thought occurred to me – Our time with our kids at home is already half over. I have found tremendous purpose and meaning in being a dad to those two and the thought of them growing up and leaving was overwhelming. I’m thankful that they’ve grown and developed appropriately, but that also means they have both left home. This summer, my wife and I took that same trip, without our kids. We even stopped at that same gas pump that we used back when I had that sad thought. Once again, my emotions threatened to overwhelm me, as I longed for something that’s impossible. As much as I may desire it, I simply cannot go back in time to when my kids were little.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last month thinking about contentment. Where do I find mine? On this last trip with my wife, I recognized that I was fortunate to have her with me. I recognized that she and I had an opportunity to make wonderful new memories. Fortunately, she and I very much enjoy our time together and so, we had a fantastic trip. Still though, if I find my entire existence in my wife, that’s not everlasting either. I don’t want to be morbid, but one of us will step into the next life before the other. Where will the one who is left be then?

Today’s passage provides me with the comfort and perspective I need when I struggle with finding contentment in the right place. In the passage, God reminded his people that he was always with them. Whenever they needed him, all they had to do was turn to him and they’d find him.

God is the only constant in my life, and he desires to have a loving, intimate relationship with me. That then, is where I must start every day. When I get up, I must first find my contentment in him. So many of my frustrations and failures in life have come from trying to find fulfilment in the wrong place. It’s not wrong to find joy in my relationship with my kids and my wife. I’ve loved being a husband and father. Only when I put God first in my heart though, can I hold all other relationships in their appropriate place. My relationship with God is the only thing in my life that will last forever. So, if I desire to experience unshakable contentment, I must choose to find it there.