Contentment as a Form of Obedience

Suffering comes in many forms. The most obvious is physical suffering. But there are countless ways we suffer spiritually. We are called to contentment no matter what form our suffering comes in. I'm reading a book now (Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?) that says the single person who is wanting and waiting to be married is suffering. We all suffer in wanting something we do not have-marriage, kids, better kids, some particular talent, an important job, a nicer boss, friends, different friends, etc. Hebrews tells us that Jesus learned obedience through suffering. In Matt. 26, we see that He prayed not to have to go to the cross; but He did it anyway in obedience to God. When we don't have what we want, we can also choose to obey. We can, and must, set aside our fear and go forward in faith and face whatever circumstances face us. We must obey God in suffering through a life that is not the exact life we wanted or envisioned.