Serving Christ Where We Are
The question the contented Christian asks is, What is the duty of my present circumstances? And carrying out that duty is vital both to Christian faithfulness and to Christian contentment.
Maybe we are not where we want to be. There is nothing sinful about desiring and praying for difficult circumstances to change. But we need to seek how we can serve Christ where we are.
John Newton writes,
If two angels were to receive at the same moment a commission from God, one to go down and rule earth’s grandest empire, the other to go and sweep the streets of its meanest village, it would be a matter of entire indifference to each which service fell to his lot, the post of ruler or the post of scavenger; for the joy of angels lies only in obedience to God’s will.
This secret of contentment is radically different from the thinking of sinful man.
The sinful heart says, ‘Get me into a situation in which I can be content.’ The Christian pursuing sanctification and contentment says, ‘Help me to be content in this situation and to perform the duty of it.’
We need to remember that contentment comes by the grace and power of God within us. Contentment is the result of a transformed heart. It is not tied to external circumstances.
– from ‘The Secret of Contentment’