Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.
― Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
I was reading 1 Timothy 6, and verse 6 reminded me of a lot of other verses on contentment, or closely related to it. Looking at the context is always encouraged.
My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
Psalm 131:1-2 NIV (all)
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:8-9
What is crooked cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.
Consider what God has done:
Who can straighten
what he has made crooked?
Ecclesiastes 1:15, 7:13
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions.
Ecclesiastes 7:10
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Colossians 4:11-13
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6
If I become content by having my desire satisfied, that is only self-love; but when I am contented with the hand of God and am willing to be at His disposal, that comes from my love to God.
― Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
I have created a one page PDF file with only the Bible verses if you would like to save it or print it out.
Also see:
Find two great books that I’ve read on the subject on Amazon:
The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs
The former is shorter. The book by Burroughs is very thorough[s].
or
Search for them as E-books from Monergism. The Crook in the Lot is similar subject matter.