Contentment After the NAR: Trusting Christ in Every Season

By Dawn Hill

“Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, freely submitting to, and taking delight in God’s wise, and fatherly disposal in every condition.”
— Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

If you had asked me several years ago how to find contentment in God, I would likely have said that it is only found in God and in the abundant life He promises in His Word. That answer sounds a bit convoluted, doesn’t it? To some it may sound decent until you begin to probe and to consider what is meant by that response. For years, I believed that power resided in my spoken words and that I could have what I said. Many times, and blindly unaware, I believed that contentment was found in temporal prosperity and in continual health.

Though a sincerity existed to draw close to God, that closeness centered upon personal experiences and emotions, dreams and visions, and hearing God, or claiming to hear the voice of God for myself. The luster of ministry was bait on the hook, dangling in the cesspool of the New Apostolic Reformation. A trip down memory lane can either be endearing or convicting as I have grown to realize that my understanding of true contentment in Christ was found more in myself and in the God I had created in my own imagination than in the God of the Bible.

Discontentment in this world is a daily temptation, no matter the personal background. When suffering is viewed as the opposite of prosperity, one will struggle to understand the contentment only the Lord can provide.

Contentment in reference to Scripture is defined by this author as “a state of being satisfied, at peace, and emotionally fulfilled with what one has or the circumstances in which one finds themselves. It is not dependent on external or temporal things.” Having contentment in God means trusting His divine sovereignty and His plan for our lives.

What if in His sovereignty He permits sickness to come into your life for your sanctification and for His glory? What if you never have temporal prosperity? Is His eternal prosperity enough for you to rejoice? What if those waves seem to never cease, throwing you as Spurgeon said, “against the Rock of Ages?” Do you kiss those waves… or do you curse those waves because the promises seem to have plummeted to the ocean’s deep?

There is much pain and confusion that culminates from leaving such teachings and coming to rest in the peace of God and to be satisfied in Him alone… It personally grieves me to hear from so many women who have been deceived and damaged by this movement, but there is contentment in having one-on-one conversations with some women, taking opportunities to listen to them and to offer hope and the truth of God’s Word.

Scripture and the Sufficiency of Christ

Scripture tells us of finding contentment in God. We can be reminded that godliness with contentment is great gain. We are to find our sufficiency in Christ alone (2 Corinthians 3:5). He is where we find our help and our satisfaction…

Paul told the church at Philippi of his understanding in being content no matter what circumstance he found himself in this world, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

Even 1 Corinthians 7:17 can challenge us yet comfort us in Christ, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” The contentment of God is not a promise to remove difficulty, but there is grace along the pilgrim’s road.

Encouragement for Those Leaving the NAR

If I can encourage those who have been graciously pulled out of this movement, I want to tell you that there is hope post-NAR. While detoxing off the need for contentment in relevance and personal power, abide in the Scripture and feast on the Word of God.

Find a Biblically solid church where you can be fed properly by godly pastors who shepherd for the glory of God. Feel free to check out my resource page for those who have come out of the NAR: www.lovesickscribe.com/resources.

Do not be discouraged in the pursuit of a solid church. They are out there, and the Lord is faithful to help you and to heal you. His grace is sufficient, and for those who are in Christ, we can find rest in His sufficiency.

Listen to the Episode

The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: The Contentment of God Post-NAR
Listen to the full conversation with Dave Jenkins on Apple Podcasts.

Pick up Dave’s latest book here: Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime