Roadblocks to Finding Contentment

Contentment is a tricky word for Christians. We know that we’re called to be content but finding contentment isn’t always easy, especially when things aren’t perfect in our lives. In fact, through my faith walk, I’ve found that there are two main roadblocks to finding contentment as a Christian—doubting God’s character and trying to be our own God. In this blog, I’ll explain how these two roadblocks stifle contentment and how we can move past them.

The First Roadblock to Contentment: Doubting God’s Character

One of the main roadblocks to contentment is doubting God’s character. When we doubt God’s character, we also doubt God’s plan for us. This leads us to create our own plans. We no longer trust Him to lead us because we feel that following God will not provide the life we desire. In turning away from God, we end up living unfulfilling lives.

The truth is that we were designed by God to glorify Him, and God has a plan for each of us that requires us to submit our lives to Him. When we reject God’s purpose for us, we end up feeling discontent when we try to create our own purpose. In this way, doubting God’s character is a contentment killer and we need to fight against it.

Overcoming the Roadblock of Doubt

One powerful way to combat doubt is through spiritual warfare. According to the Bible, we need to capture every thought or feeling that does not align with God’s Word (2 Corinthians 10:5). This includes feelings or thoughts of doubt. When we doubt, we are choosing to believe that we can’t trust God. If we want to fight against doubt, then we need to turn to God’s Word to remind us of God’s good and unchanging character.

James 1:17 says, “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” This verse reminds us that God is a trustworthy, faithful, and good Heavenly Father.

Tip: Memorize verses like James 1:17 and bring them to mind whenever doubt creeps in. Reaffirming the goodness of God’s character will counteract the lies that tell us we can’t trust Him or His plans for us.

The Second Roadblock to Contentment: Trying to Be Our Own God

As Christian, we must understand this fundamental truth—everything that we are belongs to God. Our lives belong to God. That means:

• our bodies
• our finances
• our families
• our hearts and souls
• and our future

all belong to God. Everything we have belongs to God. Romans 14:8 says “if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

When we seek to take control of our lives and reject God’s direction or vision for us,  it usually leads to feelings of disillusionment because we are rejecting the truth that our lives belong to God. We get frustrated when things don’t go our way. We blame God when unforeseen events shake our plans. However, we are not called to follow our way or our plans, but the Lord’s plans. Living in this truth can be very difficult because our sinful nature tells us that we need to be our own god. This is why a desire to control our lives is a roadblock to contentment.

Overcoming the Need for Control

To overcome the second roadblock to contentment, we need to relinquish control of our lives to God and fully submit to His plan. This requires us to do two things:

1. pray for God’s vision for our lives
2. let go of our vision for our lives

These two radical steps will help position our hearts to find contentment in the Christian life. They are also not easy. This is because we may need to grieve our own plans. If God is taking our lives in a different direction than the one we expected, then we may have invested time and energy into a vision that ultimately does not have God’s power, grace, and blessing to support it. 

Tip: Go to God in prayer and ask Him what He desires you to do right now and for the future. Praying for God to take control of our lives is one of the most liberating and radical things we can do. According to Proverbs 29:18, “where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” This verse tells us that we need God’s revelation for our lives—not our own.

My Personal Experience

For years, I had a plan for my life that never seemed to work out. It wasn’t until I began to pray and ask God for His plan for my life that I realized I needed to let go of my own desires. Otherwise, I couldn’t wholeheartedly pursue God’s vision for me. This was both scary and exhilarating because I was no longer in control of what would happen next. God was in control. The truth is that He was always in control; I was just unknowingly refusing to acknowledge His sovereignty.

After deciding to fully submit to God’s plan and timing, I felt a great sense of peace and contentment. This didn’t happen overnight. I had to fight doubting God’s character through scripture and acknowledge that my feelings did not invalidate God’s truth. It took some time as I was still learning to trust God, but I eventually no longer felt anxious over my life. I’d found contentment!

Learning to Trust God’s Plan

I learned from experience that we can overcome the roadblocks to contentment by:

• Fighting doubt with scripture and reminding ourselves of God’s goodness
• Submitting to God’s plan through prayer and surrendering control

If you’re struggling with doubt or control, don’t give up. Instead, let go. Trust God’s unchanging character and surrender to His vision. Only then can we experience the true contentment that comes from living in His purpose.

Conclusion

Doubting God’s character and trying to be our own God often leads us to feelings of dissatisfaction and disillusionment. However, we can overcome these roadblocks to contentment by studying God’s character in the Bible and submitting our desires to God’s will in prayer. 

If you’re dealing with these roadblocks to contentment, be sure to explore other blogs I’ve written about gratitude and contentment.

How do you deal with doubt or the need for control in your life? Leave a comment below! Let’s share how we can support each other in our faith journeys.