Finding What You Are Missing

I met my neighbor Marilyn today. She is the widow who lives in the house at the top of the circle, right up the road from the condo we just purchased. She was friendly and pleasant, telling me about the neighborhood and the people who live here. She has been here six years and keeps herself busy sitting on her deck and working on various activities. That seems to be the way it is with everyone in this neighborhood. We see their cars, so we assume they are home. They must be working on something.

We picked this condo because it was highly recommended as a pleasant neighborhood with little turnover. It is also close to the school our grandchildren will attend, so we will have the opportunity to walk over and meet them after school. At least, that was our plan coming in.

I do not mean to sound morbid, but it appears there are only two ways people leave this neighborhood: either they pass away, or their family members take them in for nursing home care or private care once they are no longer able to care for themselves. That is the reason we are here, and the reason the last few new residents got in. It seems to be the end of the cycle, of sorts.

I never imagined this is how things would turn out, and I don't think anyone anticipates it. We grow up young and energetic, rarely considering retirement, illness, or nursing homes--what will happen later in life. Wiser people encouraged us to plan for retirement, to invest so we would not fully dependent on a government retirement benefit. Like most people, we made token contributions to our workplace retirement funds until about ten years ago. Then, all of a sudden, we were pouring in as much as we could.

Because suddenly, you are there. You are where your grandparents were, and where your parents are now. You are at the step before the final destination. And that brings me to a prayer I have been praying and thinking through--this matter of contentment.

We could fight the inevitable, and some people do. We have our own plans, and we are hopeful that we have committed those plans to the Lord before taking these steps. Proverbs 16:3 tells us to commit our work to the Lord and our plans will be established; while Proverbs 19:21 reminds us that many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. We can plan as carefully as we know how and still watch God rewrite the outcome--and that, too, is a sign of His mercy. As Mike Tyson is credited with saying, “everybody has plans until they get hit for the first time” (Tyson, 1987, as cited in Simpson, 2026).

Whatever the exact wording, we have had our own share of unexpected hits, with me recently receiving a diagnosis of a neurological disorder that neither of us saw coming. It has not shaken our footing, though, because our footing was never really our own planning to begin with. God is our provider, and in Him we trust. We aim to be content in His hands, knowing He is in sovereign control (GotQuestions, 2026).

By contentment, I don't mean simply accepting your circumstances and keeping yourself busy while you wait for them to change. If that were contentment, everyone on death row would be content, and I don't believe that's true. Contentment is finding joy in the circumstances in which you find yourself, and being productive and useful within them, trusting that God has a good plan in mind and there is no need to worry about what comes next. It doesn't mean we stop planning--it means we stop worrying, trusting that God is in control (Daniel 4:35).

In the Bible, contentment is a learned practice. The apostle Paul, writing from prison (Acts 28:17–20; 31–32), said he had learned to be content in any and every situation, whether he had plenty or went hungry (Philippians 4:11–13). He said he could do this because he relied on Christ for his strength (Philippians 4:13). Paul would later tell his young apprentice Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6–8). Since we entered the world with nothing, we are meant to depend on God and live righteous, holy lives marked by contentment. That contentment is possible because God is with us and has promised never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5).

Even when God doesn't meet our needs or answer our prayers the way we hoped, we can still be content because of His grace. Paul said that after he had asked God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:8–9), the Lord told him that His grace was sufficient--that His power is made perfect in weakness. So Paul could boast in his weaknesses and find contentment no matter what he suffered, because when he was weak, God was strong (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). That is the kind of confidence contentment offers: God's grace and mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–23).

Jesus told His disciples that those who would hunger and thirst for righteousness--Christ’s judicial pardon and God’s approval of this sacrifice--would fill up within themselves an incredible satisfaction (Matthew 5:6). Think of this--completely pardoned of the wages of sin (Romans 3:23) and fully righteous in God’s sight! We will only find contentment when we fill up with all of God and His spirit, finding satisfaction in our relationship with Him! Wow! That last part really gets me excited!

None of this contentment is something we generate ourselves; it is the fruit of contemplating what God has already done. Paul tells the Colossians that God made us alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses and cancelled the record of debt that stood against us--He set it aside, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13–14). Our slate has been wiped clean, not by our effort but by His. When I sit with that truth long enough, it settles into something more than relief. It becomes rest. Joy and satisfaction are not things I have to manufacture by staying busy; they are the natural response to remembering who God is and what He has already done.

I want Marilyn to know all of this. Next time I see her on her deck, I want to ask her not just how she's filling her days, but whether she has found this kind of rest--the kind that doesn't depend on staying busy or staying well. I want the same for everyone else in this neighborhood. I do not really know the things that fill their afternoons--cards, gardening, or watching grandchildren grow up two streets over. I do not know if they are wondering what the next chapter holds. None of that is wrong, and I'm not writing this to judge how anyone spends their time.

I want more for them than filling time for today. I want them to know the contentment that comes from resting in who God is and in what He has already finished on the cross. Knowing this Mighty God and learning more about His attributes is enough to fill the world with His exploits (John 21:25). They need to find out what they are missing--and learn more about the adventure to come!

Sources

Crossway. (2020, November 27). 10 key Bible verses on contentment. Crossway.org.

GotQuestions.org (2026). How can I learn to trust that God is in control? Got Questions Ministries. 

Simpson, R. (2026). Everybody has a plan 'till they get punched in the face. RowanSimpson.com.