While teaching, I started demonstrating an action that had me run from one end of the class to the other. In the blink of an eye, whoosh… bam!!! I lost my footing and fell hard on my back. The impact was so intense that none of the students dared to laugh—something that usually would have been inevitable. Instead, they all anxiously asked, “Are you okay?” Still in shock, lying flat on my back, I slowly got up, laughed it off, and carried on teaching.

In the days that followed, the pain set in. At first, I thought it was just a temporary discomfort, something that would last maybe a week or two at most, however, I started to rely on the elevator at work, more than I would like to admit. Weeks turned into months, and the pain lingered. Massages and chiropractic adjustments temporarily relieved the pain. Later on, an X-ray ruled out broken bones, but an MRI confirmed two bulged discs and it would be with very mixed emotions that I would make the decision to go on medical leave to rest my back and get treated in my home country.

Though taking medical leave was neither planned nor desired, I learned that contentment could grow in a season of stillness.

Contentment can be found in the midst of rest.

Resting is biblical and a time of physical and spiritual restoration, it is not weakness or failure. Even Jesus encouraged His disciples to rest, as seen in Mark 6:31: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Contentment should be in God alone.

Sometimes when an unexpected circumstance such an illness, a family crisis, or an accident slows us down, it can feel like everything is paused. Yet, it is precisely in that pause that we are invited to grow in being content in no one else but God. Psalm 46:10 encourages: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We are invited to grow in our intimacy with God in the midst of stillness.

Contentment shouldn’t be determined by our circumstances.

In Philippians 4:11-13, the Apostle Paul says: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” The Apostle Paul wrote this while he was imprisoned in Rome awaiting trial before Caesar as recorded in Acts 28:16, 30–31. No matter his external circumstances, he learned and chose to be content.

Contentment can be found when we trust that God has our best interest in mind.

God is always at work and it is in seasons of stillness, when we surrender to Him and trust Him that contentment can settle in our hearts. Psalm 23:2 reminds us that the Lord, our Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still waters. He restores our soul. When God makes us lie down it is not to harm us or punish us, but it is to care for us.

In every season, when our hearts are anchored in God, not our circumstances, and as we rest in His presence and trust in Him, we find true contentment. Contentment is a choice. Choose to be content today!