The dictionary describes contentment as satisfaction and happiness. Lydia Brownback’s book called Contentment – A Godly Woman’s Adornment”  published by Crossway  is a devotional dealing with contentment not as the world sees it but as it is in Biblical terms.  In her introduction she says , “happiness, or contentment  comes from where we look and what we believe, not from what we have.” That is a statement worth meditating on for all of us. How many times do we say to ourselves, “If I can only attain that or acquire that or purchase that then I will be content.”  However, many times we do attain, acquire, or purchase  that thing we’ve been desiring and we’re still not content.  Why is that?  Lydia says that “we tend to create separate categories for happiness and contentment”.  She feels that happiness and contentment are the same if we look at it biblically.  As I think about  what she says in the introduction in this book I think about what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13 which follows:

“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 living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil 4:12-13 NIV

If you are looking for a quick fix to your happiness this is not a book where you will find it if it even exists. That’s what I enjoy about this devotional. Lydia goes to the meat of the issue in each day’s devotion and approaches the subject of contentment in a mature biblical way and not with some pop psychology that you find in so many books today–even those that claim to be Christian publications. She deals with some subjects that may make you squirm a little based on where you are in your journey but I would recommend this as something well worth reading and not only reading but chewing on. If you really want to be content in “all things” give this devotion a chance to help you find that understanding and direction.  Prayerfully you and I will become the women that Lydia Brownback calls to “lift our eyes upward and find security, rest, and peace in a sovereign God whose promises never fail!”