What do you think of when you think of the word “gray?”

Early last Fall, my wife and I were visiting our kids in Ocala, Florida, celebrating the birth of my first grandchild.  While there, I had the opportunity to catch up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while.  It was a mid-morning meet up at a local coffee shop.  That is where all good conversations take place is it not?  Once the usual formalities were exhausted, we found ourselves diving into an unexpected conversation.  I’m a pastor.  He’s an artist.  That doesn’t really mean anything except to add a little context to what I am sharing.  Somehow in the line of conversation about what we each had been up to we ended up talking about contentment.  It wasn’t long before we both concluded that our society looks at the word “contentment” as a four-letter word.  Society frowns upon being happy with what you have.

What if God desired for you to be happy with what you have while you live a life for Him?  What if while you were pursuing your goals, dreams, and aspirations you were 100% okay with the NOW?  What if you were okay with the PROCESS? So, I asked my friend, “what is the only likely reason anyone would run out of that door?” (referring to the entrance of the coffee shop).  He looked at me as if I must be giving him a trick question, but my answer was the obvious one: “for an emergency.”  I proceeded to share with him that we treat all of our life like an emergency.  There is nothing wrong with pursuing dreams and the desires of our heart; but, we somehow have it ingrained within us that it has to happen now.  What’s the saying?  Rome wasn’t built in a day.  I know . . . cliché . . . but true!  There is a process to everything.  A process of growing.  A process of failing in order to succeed.  A process of filtering out the junk along the journey.

And that’s when he said it: “There’s beauty in the gray.”

From that moment I determined that gray was the color of contentment.

What is gray?  The dictionary defines gray as a color that is neither black nor white.  It falls on the color palette somewhere between black and white.

What is gray not?  It is not to be confused with the condition of temperature (hot or cold).  So often in the church we like to make a lot of noise with our absolutes.  And I do believe in absolutes and absolute truth.  Most often this reminds us of these well-known verse from the Bible:

“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”  – Matthew 5:37 NKJV

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!”  – Revelation 3:15 NIV

The context of these verses refers to what we believe, what we stand for, and the decisions we make throughout our life.  But the conversation my friend and I were having was more about the processes we go through along the journey of life.  Gray is a color, not a temperature.  Temperature is a condition; color is a state of being.  If gray were a temperature, then gray is somewhere in the middle.  It’s that place where things aren’t quite clear and undefined.  Every one of us find ourselves in that place many times in our lives.  It is simply a part of the process of getting there, wherever there ultimately becomes.  But I am always encouraged by this verse:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

God’s plans for us fall into the gray area of the palette.  I know that doesn’t sound quite as refined as we would like it to.  But each of our journeys look different.  Every calling is distinct from others.  And because of the gift of free will there is a lot of room for some lateral movement in that gray space.

Another aspect of contentment is its opposite – discontentment.  I don’t think I need to spell it out, but just humor me.  If you find that you are not content in any particular season of your journey, then guess what?  You are discontent.  I’m a big fan of Clive Staples Lewis.  When I find myself in a place of discontent, I remind myself of this quote from his book, The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves:

“Nobody who gets enough food and clothing in a world where most are hungry and cold has any business to talk about misery.”

The latest global statistic shows that if one has a roof over his head and a meal on his table, he is richer than 93 percent of the world’s population. If a person wears a pair of shoes, he is richer than 75 percent of the people in the world.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” – Psalm 23:1 NKJV

In this verse, God speaking to us in code about the relationship between the Shepherd (God) and His sheep (all of us).  When a shepherd loves his flock, the sheep become content.  The reality is God does love us . . . very much.  So much so, that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay our penalty on the cross and gain victory for us over sin and death through His resurrection (John 3:16).  But there are many of us sheep that stop listening to the shepherd.  There are some of us that don’t or won’t receive His love for us.  And we become discontent.

As a little side note:  what color are most sheep?  Gray!

“Contentment is one of the greatest joys and privileges of the Christian life.” – Richard A. Swenson M.D.  (Contentment: The Secret to Lasting Calm)

Being content means as believers our trust and confidence in God is shown by our satisfaction of our condition regardless of our circumstances.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28 NKJV

Well, since I’m content (see what I did there?) to call on so many scripture references, let’s see what the Bible says specifically about contentment?

“If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.” – Job 36:11 NIV

“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” – 1 Timothy 6:6 NIV

“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” – Matthew 6:25 NIV

That “need” or desire to arrive in God’s calling for us is very much a part of His creation of humanity.  It’s a part of our design because He created us to be in relationship with Him.  That relationship isn’t simply including Him in our daily lives; it is also the pursuit of His unique plan for each of us.  So, our calling isn’t a destination to arrive at, it is actually the journey itself.  The more we intentionally draw closer to Him, with all the dreams and vision burning inside of us, we are in actuality fulfilling the calling on our lives.  The blessing, the joy, and the privilege is our ability to watch and experience it play out over the course of our life on this side of eternity.

The gray is the middle. The gray is the process. Many of us despise the process.  I would highly recommend you look up the story, The Knights of the Silver Shield by Raymond M. Alden.  This is a fascinating short story that illuminates this concept I am describing.

Dallas Willard from his book, Renovation of the Heart, said, “Beyond contentment lies intelligent, energetic participation in accomplishing God’s will in our world.  We are no longer spectators but are caught up in a vivid and eternal drama in which we play an essential part.  We embrace our imposed circumstances, no matter how tragic they seem, and act for the good in a power beyond ourselves.”

So often we gauge our efforts against someone else’s successes.  There is nothing wrong with admiring and appreciating another person’s journey.  But our journey is not supposed to look like someone else’s.  I don’t want my calling, my legacy even, to be identical with someone else.  Why?  Because I cherish the truth that God has a unique and distinct plan for my life.  When you get to a place of contentment, that’s when things begin to happen.  That’s where God can move the most powerfully.  I exhort you to embrace the journey as God lays it out before you.