Dreaming of a Life You Don’t Live

Discovering True Contentment in What You Already Possess.

The secret to happiness, as many have discovered, lies not in acquiring more but in learning to love what you already have. Yet for so many of us, contentment feels elusive. We peer over the fence at greener pastures, imagining how much fuller, richer, or more fulfilling life would be if only we had what someone else does.

C.S. Lewis captures this dilemma beautifully in Shadowlands when a character reflects, “I don’t want to be somewhere else anymore. I’m not waiting for anything new to happen not looking around the next corner and over the next hill. I’m here now. That’s enough.”

But how often can we say the same? For many, discontentment whispers, “If this, this, and this happens, then I’ll finally be happy.” Meanwhile, the life we have our relationships, our resources, even our faith feels insufficient.

The Problem of Wanting More

The Bible addresses our tendency to desire what isn’t ours in Exodus 20:17:

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

In modern terms, this might read, “Stop longing for your neighbor’s success, their perfect marriage, their well-behaved kids, or even their shiny new car.” The principle is clear: we find happiness not by yearning for more but by embracing what God has already provided.

Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs explained it this way in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment:

“A Christian comes to contentment, not so much by way of addition, as by way of subtraction.”

In other words, contentment doesn’t come by piling on more possessions or achievements. Instead, it comes by aligning our desires with the reality God has given us.

Paul’s Secret to Contentment

The apostle Paul modeled this mindset. Writing to Timothy, he warned against the dangers of material desires:

“If we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:8).

Paul’s perspective is striking. While many kings with overflowing treasures couldn’t find contentment, Paul found it with life’s bare essentials. How? By trusting in God’s provision and focusing on eternal riches rather than earthly gain.

The Promise of God’s Presence

The writer of Hebrews takes this idea further, encouraging believers to resist the love of money and instead find contentment in God’s promise:

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).

Here, the shift is profound. The source of contentment isn’t just about appreciating what you have; it’s about recognizing who you have.

When discontentment says, “You need a better job to feel fulfilled,” God replies, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
When envy whispers, “Your life would be perfect if you had what they have,” God assures, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This promise reframes everything. God’s presence is the ultimate antidote to the restlessness that drives us to chase more.

The Futility of Shallow Wells

It’s not wrong to desire a new job, a spouse, or a home. But the problem lies in the belief that these things will fill the deepest voids in our hearts.

Jesus addressed this directly when speaking to the woman at the well:

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:13–14).

The “water” of material success, human relationships, or earthly pleasures may satisfy temporarily, but it will never quench our eternal thirst. Only Christ, the Living Water, offers the fulfillment we crave.

Rediscovering What We Have in Christ

At the root of humanity’s dissatisfaction is a longing for Eden a time when man walked with God in perfect fellowship. That harmony was broken by sin, leaving us searching in vain for the joy we once knew.

But the good news of the gospel is this: Jesus restores what was lost. He is the Bread of Life for starving souls, the Living Water for parched hearts, and the Shepherd who leads us home. In him, we find forgiveness, purpose, and belonging.

Paul captures this truth in Romans 8:32:

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

Through Christ, we have everything we need. And if God’s presence isn’t enough to satisfy us, nothing else ever will be.

Choosing Contentment

The secret to loving the life you have is to see it through the lens of God’s promises. It’s recognizing that the ultimate treasure isn’t a promotion, a bigger house, or a picture-perfect family it’s God himself.

When dissatisfaction whispers its lies, counter it with truth:

  • Your job: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

  • Your relationships: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

  • Your possessions: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Let this be your anthem: God is enough. His presence fills the gaps that no earthly treasure can.

The life you don’t have may look appealing, but the life you do have centered in Christ is infinitely better.

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