thoughts on contentment
interestingly, this theme of contentment is very greatly connected to my recent thoughts on what it means that God is good, and i don't think it's an accident that these thoughts have presented themselves at the time they have. nor do i think it's an accident that i have been reading jeremiah burroughs. i have so much appreciated what he has to say about the subject that i cannot but think that, if only for a split second, God has used him to help me see right-side-up. they echo much of what we have heard douglas wilson teach us over our four years with him, and encourage a wise, heart-knowledge of it. here are a few of mr. burroughs thoughts that have captured mine:
A quiet, gracious frame of spirit is not opposed to a due sense of affliction. God gives His people leave to be sensible of what they suffer. Christ does not say, "Do not count as a cross what is a cross"; He says "Take up your cross daily."...So this inward quietness is not in opposition to a sense of afflictions, for, indeed, there would be no true contentment if you were not apprehensive and sensible of your afflictions.
A quiet, gracious frame of spirit is not opposed to making in an orderly manner our moan and complaint to God, and to our friends. Though a Christian ought to be quiet under God's correcting hand, he may without any breach of Christian contentment complain to God. As one of the ancients says, "Though not with a tumultuous clamour and shrieking out in a confused passion, yet in a quiet, still, submissive way he may unbosom his heart to God. Likewise he may communicate his sad condition to his Christian friends, showing them how God has dealt with him, and how heavy the affliction is upon him, that they may speak a word in season to his weary soul.
Not only in good things does the Christian have the dew of God's blessing, and find them very sweet to him, but in all the afflictions, all the evils that befall him, he can see love, and can enjoy the sweetness of love in his afflictions as well as in his mercies. The truth is that the afflictions of God's people come from the same eternal love that Jesus Christ came from...All God's strokes are strokes of love and mercy, all God's ways are mercy and truth, to those that fear Him and love Him (Ps 25:10). The ways of God, the ways of affliction, as well as the ways of prosperity, are mercy and love to him. Grace gives a man an eye, a piercing eye to pierce into the councels of God, those eternal counsels of God for good to him, even in his afflictions; he can see the love of God in every affliction as well as in prosperity. Now this is a mystery to a carnal heart. They can see no such thing; perhaps they think God loves them when He prospers them and makes them rich, but they think God loves them not when He afflicts them. That is a mystery, but grace instructs men in that mystery, grace enables men to see love in the very frown of God's face, and so comes to receive contentment.
A Christian comes to contentment not by making up the wants of his circumstances, but by the performance of the work of his circumstances. This is the way of contentment. These are the circumstances that I am in, with many wants: I want this and the other comfort - well, how shall I come to be satisfied and content? A carnal heart thinks, I must have my wants made up or else it is impossible that I should be content. But a gracious heart says, "What is the duty of the circumstances God has put me into? Indeed, my circumstances have changed, I was not long since in a prosperous state, but God has changed my circumstances. The Lord has called me no more Naomi, but Marah. Now what am I to do? What can I think now are those duties that God requires of me in the circumstances that He has now put me into? Le me exert my strength to perform the duties of my present circumstances. You should labor to bring your heart to quiet and contentment by setting your soul to work in the duties of your present condition. So it is with many who think, "If I were in such circumstances, then I should have contentment"; and perhaps they get into those circumstances, and they are as far from contentment as before. But then they think that if they were in other circumstances, they would be conteneted, but when they have got into those circumstances, they are still as far from contentment as before. No, no, let me consider what is the duty of my present circumstances, and content my heart with this, and say, "Well, though I am in a low position, yet I am serving the counsels of God in those circumstances where I am; it is the counsel of God that has brought me into these circumstances that I am in, and I desire to serve the counsel of God in these circumstances.
what more can be said? these thoughts come from jeremiah burroughs' The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.
A quiet, gracious frame of spirit is not opposed to a due sense of affliction. God gives His people leave to be sensible of what they suffer. Christ does not say, "Do not count as a cross what is a cross"; He says "Take up your cross daily."...So this inward quietness is not in opposition to a sense of afflictions, for, indeed, there would be no true contentment if you were not apprehensive and sensible of your afflictions.
A quiet, gracious frame of spirit is not opposed to making in an orderly manner our moan and complaint to God, and to our friends. Though a Christian ought to be quiet under God's correcting hand, he may without any breach of Christian contentment complain to God. As one of the ancients says, "Though not with a tumultuous clamour and shrieking out in a confused passion, yet in a quiet, still, submissive way he may unbosom his heart to God. Likewise he may communicate his sad condition to his Christian friends, showing them how God has dealt with him, and how heavy the affliction is upon him, that they may speak a word in season to his weary soul.
Not only in good things does the Christian have the dew of God's blessing, and find them very sweet to him, but in all the afflictions, all the evils that befall him, he can see love, and can enjoy the sweetness of love in his afflictions as well as in his mercies. The truth is that the afflictions of God's people come from the same eternal love that Jesus Christ came from...All God's strokes are strokes of love and mercy, all God's ways are mercy and truth, to those that fear Him and love Him (Ps 25:10). The ways of God, the ways of affliction, as well as the ways of prosperity, are mercy and love to him. Grace gives a man an eye, a piercing eye to pierce into the councels of God, those eternal counsels of God for good to him, even in his afflictions; he can see the love of God in every affliction as well as in prosperity. Now this is a mystery to a carnal heart. They can see no such thing; perhaps they think God loves them when He prospers them and makes them rich, but they think God loves them not when He afflicts them. That is a mystery, but grace instructs men in that mystery, grace enables men to see love in the very frown of God's face, and so comes to receive contentment.
A Christian comes to contentment not by making up the wants of his circumstances, but by the performance of the work of his circumstances. This is the way of contentment. These are the circumstances that I am in, with many wants: I want this and the other comfort - well, how shall I come to be satisfied and content? A carnal heart thinks, I must have my wants made up or else it is impossible that I should be content. But a gracious heart says, "What is the duty of the circumstances God has put me into? Indeed, my circumstances have changed, I was not long since in a prosperous state, but God has changed my circumstances. The Lord has called me no more Naomi, but Marah. Now what am I to do? What can I think now are those duties that God requires of me in the circumstances that He has now put me into? Le me exert my strength to perform the duties of my present circumstances. You should labor to bring your heart to quiet and contentment by setting your soul to work in the duties of your present condition. So it is with many who think, "If I were in such circumstances, then I should have contentment"; and perhaps they get into those circumstances, and they are as far from contentment as before. But then they think that if they were in other circumstances, they would be conteneted, but when they have got into those circumstances, they are still as far from contentment as before. No, no, let me consider what is the duty of my present circumstances, and content my heart with this, and say, "Well, though I am in a low position, yet I am serving the counsels of God in those circumstances where I am; it is the counsel of God that has brought me into these circumstances that I am in, and I desire to serve the counsel of God in these circumstances.
what more can be said? these thoughts come from jeremiah burroughs' The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.
posted by joe at
4:21 PM
2 Comments:
Wow, I needed to read that - thank you :)
Hey Jen!
Yep, you and Joe were right, it was Stephen who wrote that! I need to write my own version of "the ultrasound pictures":) Hope you both are doing well. We keep up with you through the blog. Loved seeing all the pictures you have taken! Joe, it almost seems like you and Stephen are related. He takes hundreds of pics wherever we go and has taken quite an interest in photography! Take care!
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