I was excited to read this book because whom of us doesn’t struggle with contentment from time to time. While there were some great nuggets of truth over all I found the book to be lacking. Coming off rather “preachy” with more than it’s fair share of cliche examples.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

We live in an age full of distractions, with everyone and everything clamoring for our allegiance and attention almost 24/7. The message that true and lasting contentment can only be found is Christ is one that will never get old. The author, in very clear and simple language, communicates this faithfully in Chasing Contentment. Taking his cues from great Puritan authors of the past, like Burroughs and Watson, he roots contentment in knowing Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture. If you are looking for a book that is readable and faithful to what the Bible says about contentment and satisfaction, look no further than Chasing Contentment by Erik Raymond. His writing style makes good theology accessible to all.

Boy, if this books doesn't hit the nail on the head around contentment, i don't know what will. We live in a culture that is never satisfied and yet, we have everything?! We can be the most popular on social media and utterly alone. We can have all the bells and whistle and never happy. Contentment comes in understanding who we truly are and how dearly loved and provided we are by Jesus. Jesus gives us our daily bread and it is exactly what we need for this day, but we are busy looking at yesterday or tomorrow and chasing after things that are either done or hasn't happened yet. And if we don't find contentment in Jesus, we will always run after things. This is very insightful how that happens and changes that we need to make in our lives. I appreciate Erik tackling a very popular topic. This is a great resource.

I admit I approached Chasing Contentment: Trusting God in a Discontented Age by Erik Raymond with the idea that I was going to learn some new tricks to be more content. That was the wrong approach. The world wants us to believe there are new steps and a new path to find contentment. However, Raymond writes about the only source of true contentment—faith in God.

Raymond writes:

This book explains what contentment is and several ways to learn it. It is pivotal to understand that contentment is anchored in the God who is content in himself. What better gift can God give to hungry, hurting people like us than himself?

The book is structured in two parts: Defining Contentment and Learning Contentment. Raymond defines contentment as “the inward, gracious, quiet spirit that joyfully rests in God’s providence.” He is quick to point out that there is no shortcut to contentment. It is something we are continually learning throughout our lives as we look to Christ.

The most powerful chapter to me is “See Through the Shiny Wrappers.” From the beginning in Genesis, temptation has come to us in shiny packaging. Adam and Eve lacked nothing, yet the “shiny wrapper” presented by the snake convinced them they needed something more. The chapter goes on to show that our “perception of need and desire for pleasure” easily lead us into sin and discontentment.

Chasing Contentment: Trusting God in a Discontented Age presents a solid definition of contentment and then consistently points to prayer, scripture, and Christian fellowship as the methods to learn contentment. There are no quick fixes or five easy steps to change our circumstances. It is all based on God, who is content in Himself, and calls us to Him.

Thank you for the galley. Unfortunately, I could not read the book before it was archived.