The Secret of Contentment

Introduction

In a Roman prison, buffeted on every side; hated by critics, uncertain of his future, and a body marked by years of hardship and suffering, the Apostle Paul writes his heartfelt letter to the Christians in Philippi. Despite these many afflictions, his tone in this letter is surprisingly not one of complaint or despair. He writes this:

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

In this passage the Apostle confronts us directly in seasons when suffering seemingly presses far too hard; when life seems to shift without warning; when the future feels veiled in fog and out of our control; when our daily bread feels far too elusive. In this passage you will not find Paul offering a technique for emotional self-control: deep breathing, anxiety medication, or mindfulness. What we find is a testimony to a grace-wrought discipline that Paul had to learn. It isn’t biological, it isn’t inherited, it isn’t achieved by temperament; no, this sort of discipline is something that can only be acquired by and in the furnace of God’s providence.

Contentment

Contentment, according to the Apostle, is not at all the absence of the desire for relief or the stoic suppression of feelings and the neglect of emotions. Rather, it is the settled conviction that, in everything and in every way and at every time, Christ is enough. The conviction that Christ is enough whether one is brought low or abounds. Paul had known both extremes: the abundance of former religious prestige and the want of chains and hunger. He had tasted the approval of men and the rejection of the world. He had been blessed by the church and fellow workmen at times, and at others had been abandoned and betrayed by the same trusted men. Through it all, however, he discovered that his sufficiency did not rise and fall with his circumstances; despite the reality that he “worked harder than any [other Apostle]” (1 Cor 15:10), his adequacy did not depend upon his effort. Rather, his sufficiency and adequacy rested in the living Christ who strengthened him.

This “secret” that Paul learned is no blank check for personal ambition or material prosperity. When a rich and famous football player claims, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” in the context of his 10 Million Dollar NFL contract, he is misusing and abusing this text to make a pretext for his religiosity. In context, the “secret” Paul is remarking on is the power to remain faithful, joyful, and content in every condition – whether the cup is full or empty, whether the path is clear or shrouded, whether the hits keep on coming, whether the waves continue to crash down. Because if joy in Christ and contentment in Christ and fidelity in Christ require our outward circumstances to be just right, pleasant, and agreeable, then that isn’t Christianity – it is idolatry.

Nevertheless, the same Lord who upheld Paul in the dungeon still upholds His people today. The strength promised is not the power to escape a trial, but the power to endure every trial with a heart at rest in the providential, perfect, and sovereign will of God.

Therefore, when suffering comes – whether through bodily affliction, loss, betrayal, financial strain, or any other thing – fight the temptation to measure God’s love for you by the absence of pain in your life. Look instead to the One who was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Look to the One who was, himself, “despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3). Look to the One who, although crushed by his own Father, was and is a dearly beloved son. Look to the one who now lives to intercede for you. The same Savior who, in the midst of agony and suffering, sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane, and cried to the Father, “Not my will, but yours, be done,” now supplies the grace you need to say the same in your own garden of sorrow: not my will, oh Lord, but yours be done.

Beloved, the secret Paul learned is still available to every believer, because every believer is united to Christ by faith. Christ knew how to be content and settled in the bosom of his Father, and we see this contentment throughout his entire life and especially in his death. And as Paul learned Christ, he, too, learned contentment. He didn’t learn this secret overnight, nor did he learn it after one round of agony. No. He learned this over years of hardship, pain, loss, and difficulty. But he knew that every affliction he faced was given him from the kind hand of the Lord, and it was meant to draw him nearer to Christ and prepare him for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. In other words, this secret cannot be learned quickly, nor is it learned apart from the very trials that make the secret necessary. God often teaches us contentment by withholding what we think we must have and by giving us what we think we cannot bear – and it may be that through many tears we discover that Christ Himself is the only portion that satisfies when every other portion is removed.

Conclusion

So what are we to do? Well, fix your eyes on Christ, of course. Do not fix your eyes on the things that are seen, for they are transient. Rather fix your eyes on things that are unseen for they are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Look to Christ, the author and finisher of your faith, who, for the joy set before Him endured the suffering, mockery, horror, pain, and humiliation of the cross (Hebrews 12:2). In Him you have strength sufficient for every circumstance, because in Him you have a Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) even in the midst of your deepest suffering.

May the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3–4), grant you the grace to learn this sacred secret afresh. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, both now and until the day when every tear is wiped away, and all uncertainty gives way to everlasting joy.

Amen.