Seek His Face, Volume I
Contentment
by alison mellgren

“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members
do not have the same function…” Romans 12:4

It seems to me our relationships tell us who we are. We define ourselves by them. As do others. Sometimes they define us by the lack of them. You cannot watch a movie, read a book or chat with a friend and not be exposed to someone’s opinion on relationships. The overriding consensus seems to be we should not be alone.

I am a single Christian. Single is not a disease which needs a cure as some people seem to think. It is simply one of many adjectives which describe me. The world has a lot to say about relationships especially if you are single. So do many dating or married Christians who unwittingly convey through words or actions; that if you are a Christian and single you have not realized your full potential yet. This can be such a discouragement to singles in the body of Christ.

“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly…” Romans 12:4-6a.

Being single is not a condition nor is being married. Both are a commitment and we all share the same condition: sinful, fallen man. Recently I discussed this “single” scenario with my siblings. For the first time our conversation became more than venting our frustration regarding a viewpoint which appears to celebrate being in a relationship, more than not being in one.
Through our discussion the Lord began to reveal to us that whether we are single, married and struggling to start a family, on the brink of a divorce or a careworn single parent, at times we all share the innate frustration of feeling we are entirely alone.

There are times in our lives when this loneliness is felt more keenly. These periods are not necessarily contingent on social and familial relationships or the lack of them. When the children of God lose sight of the one relationship which matters most—the one with our Savior— we begin to feel our aloneness. Our fallen state accentuates this loneliness.

Whenever I read the psalms of David I marvel. I do not have to wonder how he is feeling about his relationship with his Lord. He praises fluently or cries out in bold anguish. His impassioned pleas appear to fall on deaf ears while he laments his circumstances repeatedly, with a fervor which almost seems to offend. Yet in the next verse David can revert to unabashed, effervescent tribute.

What the Lord desires from us is communion which is unashamed and unafraid. King David pursued this kind of communal relationship with the Lord throughout his life. Yet even the man after God’s own heart struggled with the act of putting his relationship with his Lord first.
Every time I read a psalm of David I admire and appreciate his simple, child-like trust. This trust allows him to express himself without reservation. Whatever his circumstance whether dire or joyful, his trust reveals he knows the source of his contentment.

Any relationship issue is really one about contentment. Can we be content where we are? Can we be content with what the Lord has given us? Do we grumble about what we still do not have? Do we sulk about what we had to give up? Do we begin to orchestrate circumstances to provide what it is we think we need?

Apart from Christ we are truly alone. Even those of us who are born again experience this loneliness not because Christ has left us, but because we have left Him— in our hearts and by our actions.

Maybe our day gets busy and we neglect our personal devotions thinking tomorrow we will have more time. Maybe we turn aside to do “good” things, letting our works become an effort at righteousness. Maybe we shun the simple resting at His feet like Martha, thinking later we will have more time. We have made tomorrow our apology and later a justifiable excuse for someday.

Isaiah 30:15 describes very well what God considers contentment. “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”

In the body of Christ we all serve a purpose. Let us build up our fellow believers encouraging and supporting them in the role the Lord has called them to fulfill. I urge you to pursue with diligence the relationship which matters the most. Believers, make someday today.