contentment or discontentment?

I recently attended a management team meeting in Limuru, Kenya for my South Sudan programme. It was very fruitful as we had a full management team this quarter and really got to do a lot of thinking and sharing about our programming. One of my colleagues who just joined my team from North Sudan and Indonesia led a devotion about contentment. It really made me think - why are we always so discontented? Why do we never feel at peace and always have this bit of anxiety. I'm completely guilty of this and I see it in so many of my friends as well. We always seem to be looking to the future - our next step in life, our next holiday, our next career opportunity - what we will do next week, tomorrow night, next year..It's enough to give anyone a panic attack so I'm not surprised by the alarming rates of depression and related illnesses coming out of modern, developed countries like the US and the UK.

I was reminded of what Paul wrote in Romans in 8:28 which says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." So if I believe this, which I do as a Christian, then why am I so anxious about "what's next?" God is in control of every situation. Paul says if we love God, he will work for the good. So, he uses each situation, each placement, every detail for a purpose - it's part of His plan. This is really comforting to me when I start feeling discontent and am antsy for change.

I think our society really encourages this discontentment. We have so many options - with the resources we have, we can do almost anything so when we make a choice, we always wonder if another choice would be better. Also, we are so obsessed with "doing?" I"'m bored, what am I doing next? Where am I going?" and in this thinking, we forget to make the most of the opportunity of the present - taking advantage of the situation in which God has placed us.