Contentment with Stacy Reaoch
On today’s episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I’m chatting with Stacy Reaoch about something we all desire but struggle with on the daily - contentment! We talked about everything from why and how we struggle with contentment to how God’s promises bring satisfaction even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.
So you’ll know her a little better, Stacy is a pastor’s wife and mother of four. She and her husband, Ben, serve at Three Rivers Grace Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the author of a helpful little book called Wilderness Wanderings: Finding Contentment in the Desert Times of Life. I can’t wait for you to hear from her today.
I am so thankful for Stacy’s encouragement to remember God’s promises, always. If you want to talk more about the topic of contentment, you can hop over to @journeywomenpodcast on Instagram or Facebook. Also, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss next week’s episode with Jackie Hill Perry! We’re stoked about it. A huge thanks to Chris Mann of podshapter who edited this week’s episode! It’s such a joy to get to journey with you guys. Can’t wait to see you here, next Monday! Have a great week!
Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
What is contentment?
Why do we struggle with contentment?
What are the hard things in life preparing us for? How does God use the wilderness times in our lives?
How is suffering part of God's plan to give us more of himself? How does hardship increase dependence?
What does it look like to have contentment, even as we struggle through suffering and trials?
How can we learn to bank on the promises of God's Word as opposed to being driven to-and-fro by the waves of our circumstances and emotions?
What is the danger in allowing ourselves to dwell on and idealize the past? What should we do instead?
How can we remember God's faithfulness to us in time's past and to his people throughout all of history?
How does being content with God's perfect provision free us up to give to others as he has given to us?
How can we come alongside one another and encourage each other to practice contentment?
THREE QUESTIONS I ASK EVERY GUEST
What 3 resources would you recommend for someone who wants to grow in contentment?
What are your 3 simple joys?
Who has had the greatest impact on your own journey with Jesus?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“In the world somebody might say 'contentment is linked to getting what they want'. But as Christians, the contentment is not just being satisfied, but being satisfied in God, delighting and trusting in the promises of his word.”
“For us, living in the land of ‘if only’ might look something like ‘if only I could get pregnant’, ‘if only I didn’t have so many kids’, ‘if only we had a bigger house, then I could be happy’, or ‘if only I could lose 10 pounds’. But none of those things are going to bring us lasting joy and peace. They might provide a temporal joy and happiness, but our sinful selves will soon find something else to need to be content.”
“If we never wanted for anything, it would be really difficult to see our need for God.”
“Suffering forces us to depend on the Lord because it’s when we come to the end of ourselves and realize we don’t have enough. We don’t have enough will power or energy or perseverance on our own. It’s only through God’s all sufficient grace.”
“Our weakness showcases the Lord’s strength. It shines a spotlight on his all sufficient, all powerful grace. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Hardships make us cry out to the Lord, and our God loves to hear our prayers and be our refuge in the midst of a storm.”
“Being content doesn’t mean we don’t struggle with suffering and trials. I don’t think we ever perfectly arrive at being 100% content in this life on earth because we live in a fallen world. But our hope is that one day, those trusting in Christ, will be with Jesus in heaven where we won’t want for anything because we have him!”
“Contentment is a fight against the grumbling and ingratitude that plague our hearts [by focusing on the promises of God’s word].”
“We need to know the promises of God’s word. This should be a motivation for us to be diligent students of God’s word. Don’t be a second hand feeder. Don’t think that listening to your pastor or a podcast is enough.”
“I think about opening the Bible and mining for diamonds. We are studying it ourselves and memorizing and meditating. That will be the bouy in the midst of the storms of life. That is what will hold us up and give us perspective.”
“Is what I’m fearing really happening or is it just my imagination running wild? Elisabeth Elliot says, ‘there is no grace for our imaginations’. We can also remember that God is with us, the promise of Psalm 46:1.”
“We can remember how God has been faithful to keep his promises. So looking back at how he promised to deliver the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians, and he did it. He promised to lead them to Canaan, the promised land. He promised that only Joshua and Caleb and the second generation would enter it because of their grumbling. And that’s what happened. We can see his faithfulness throughout scripture and the ways that he worked. We see in the wilderness journey when he exhorts the Israelites to remember their deliverance from Egypt or when he exhorts them not to forget what he’s done when they are on the brink of entering Canaan and everything seems good. In the same way, we need to remember how God has worked in our lives. How has he provided for you in a time of need? How has he given you strength and grace when you were at the end of your rope?”
“If we are trusting that God’s provision is enough for us, we won’t feel the need to hoard our time or resources. So when our daily comforts are pressed it can be easy to get bent out of shape and become laser focused on our needs. Instead we need to trust that God will provide for every good work that he has called us to do.”
STACY'S RESOURCES FOR CONTENTMENT
Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot
Contentment by Lydia Brownback
Choosing Gratitude by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
OTHER RESOURCES
Wilderness Wanderings: Finding Contentment in the Desert Times of Life by Stacy Reaoch
STACY'S SIMPLE JOYS
Date Nights
Laughing with Her Kids
Driving Alone with Music Blaring
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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