By GUEST WRITERS
I’ve been struggling with boredom recently and I don’t quite know how to handle it. I want to be content, enjoy every day and accept it as a blessing. How am I supposed to handle boredom?
answered by: Lauren R. | Colorado, USA
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
Philippians 4:11 KJV
What a convicting passage! I have been studying Philippians for quite some time now and recently studied through the fourth chapter. During that time, I had been giving in to discontentment, which always results in ungratefulness and selfishness. My heart was instantly pricked as I read Paul’s declaration, which he actually penned while in a Roman prison.
It is all too easy to crave what we don’t have or what we mistakenly believe will bring us joy, excitement, or pleasure. When our everyday lives are filled with simple, mundane tasks or happenings, we can start believing that we need something other than Jesus to satisfy us. However, we know from Scripture that only Jesus brings lasting joy, excitement, and pleasure.
Later in Philippians 4, Paul shares his secret for being content in any and every situation. Do you know what it is? It’s not anything that this world can offer. The secret to contentment is Jesus! Paul writes, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). It is Jesus who sustains him—whether he is in a season of abundance or need.
In every moment of every day, you and I have a choice. We can plow through what is before us while restlessly pining after what we don’t have. Or we can rest our souls upon Jesus, trusting that He is in control and able to change our circumstances if He desires. If you will choose to draw strength from Jesus when your circumstances are less than ideal, you will experience the secret to contentment for yourself.
answered by: Gerda A. | Ethiopia
I have found that boredom is more an attitude of the heart than an actual circumstance. It is an attitude that makes one look for something or someone to fulfill an inward desire. The desire is usually unnamed, but causes a longing for self to be entertained and satisfied, or to have one’s mind occupied. And if no one is able to do that for us, we declare that we are bored. Which, to me, seems the same as declaring that we are lazy.
From a young age this verse spoke to me: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecc. 9:10a ESV). Boredom never surfaced in my life, for I had been taught how to work and how to help others. There is always something you can do for those in your church: washing windows or cars, or babysitting children. When I needed money, I started painting people’s houses, delivering newspapers, working odd hours in a bakery, and in between these things studied my school or college work.
So I would like to encourage you to look outward, and ask God to “confirm the works of [your] hands” (Ps. 90:17 NASB). For then, from your hands will flow blessing instead of begging, and your heart will at last be satisfied indeed.
