Unlocking the Secret of Contentment
Philippians 4:10-13 | August 11, 2019
I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians 4. This morning we are going to be reading verses 10-13.
I’ve said the last several weeks that this chapter deals with the three of the top 5 problems that humans face: conflict, anxiety, and depression. I stand corrected this morning. It deals with 4 of the top 5 problems. Our passage today deals with yet another endemic conundrum which we face. It is the problem of contentment.
I’m sure you know well the extent of this sin in our world. It is at the bottom of many girls who struggle with eating disorders (because they are dissatisfied with their looks). It is at root of most who have OCD (because it is about discontent with messes or a desire to control one’s environment). Even you may have had minor expressions of these problems this morning. As you looked in the mirror to get ready you weren’t satisfied with the way you look. You were discontent with your children’s behavior or your brothers’ unkindness. You may even be discontent that you have to be here and listen to me for the next 35 minutes.
We will talk about other expressions of this problem, but the list could certainly go on and on. And we know that to find contentment is to find lost treasure and a rare jewel. But our text for this morning gives us the treasure map where we can unearth this glorious prize. So let’s give our attention to God’s holy Word.
Philippians 4:10-13 ESV 10
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 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. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
This past week during my preparations I came across an article which I think strikes quite true to the issue that we are addressing this morning. The author said this:
Over the past few years I’ve come to the conclusion that our society lives in a constant state of discontentment. We’re not happy with our leaders, with our spouse, our children, or the things that we have. Our house is too small, our TV is an older model and our smartphone doesn’t have the latest 4G technology. So what’s a person to do in order to find contentment in such a restless world, and why can’t we seem to find the contentment that we’re looking for?
Many of us are trying to fill a void of some kind in our lives, and unfortunately we try to fill that void with things that can’t satisfy. We look to fill the void with possessions or money, but we only end up wanting more. We try to fill it with relationships or sex, but we end up feeling even more empty and depressed than when we started.
Wealth is “like seawater: the more you drink, the thirstier you become.” – philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer
All of these things we try to fill our lives with aren’t necessarily bad things, but when they become the end goals, and the reason for our being, we end up being discontent because those things were never meant to fulfill us.
All of what is said here is right on target and highlights the real need for the people of our day to come to terms with the biblical notion of contentment. We live in a world that is filled with discontent over almost every possible thing.
But the good news is that you and I who have Christ can gain what most of the world is missing. As a matter of fact, Paul uses an interesting word in this passage. He says he “learned the secret” of being content. The word here was used within the ancient mystery cults. Once you went through the initiation of these cults, you were supposed to have received a secret knowledge. You were supposed to have entered an elite group of enlightened people, possessing understanding that most of the world did not supposedly have.
Paul takes this word and applies it to the Christian realm. He uses it in regards to how we can become spiritually enlightened. While the rest of the world lives in the drudgery of discontent, we can gain the understanding that leads to a contented life.
And our passage this morning gives us the keys to unlocking that secret. And so I encourage you to give special ear to what is said in this portion of God’s Word.
The first thing that we must do is understand what contentment is. How do we define contentment?
I. It’s nature
A typical dictionary will say that it is “a state of happiness and satisfaction.”
That’s a pretty good generic definition. It would be like this: Kids, let’s pretend you are in the play room with a friend or with one of your siblings. Your friend reaches into the toy box and pulls out a toy from the very bottom. You haven’t played with that toy for years. As a matter of fact, you haven’t even seen it for some months. But as soon as you see him playing with it, what happens? You are suddenly filled with discontent. You gotta have that toy. You are not satisfied with the thousands of other toys in that room; you have to have that one! And so you run over and pull it out of their hands and start playing with it.
That’s discontent. If you were content, you’d be happy that he had that toy and that you could play with it later. You’d be satisfied with all the other things with which to play.
So you can think of contentment like that: a simple state of happiness or satisfaction. That’s one way to define it. But there’s another way to define it.
You may have gotten a birthday email from the church this past year. If you did, you may have noticed that there was a “gift” included. It was an ebook by a puritan named Jeremiah Boroughs, entitled, “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.” It was a book on he defines contentment this way:
“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.”
I like that definition because it stresses the inward disposition and the virtues that characterize contentment: sweet, quiet, gracious. You’re submitting to and delighting in God and His Providence. So whatever comes your way, you’ll be at peace with that.
Let’s go back to our illustration. Let’s you are in the play room and you just pulled out that toy that hasn’t been played with for years. Your brother sees it and comes and rips it out of your hands. Jeremiah Boroughs says that contentment is that sweet and gracious frame of spirit you’ll have that delights in and submits to this providence.
But how do we really act? For most of us it usually starts with frantic screaming, hitting, and culminates in you yelling, “MOOOOOMMMMM!
Boroughs at least gives us something to aim for and helps us understand the distinctly Christian idea of contentment.
But I’d like you to notice how the Apostle Paul defines contentment. The word he uses in verse 11 is quite interesting. We translate it as content in our English Bibles, but it is actually a word that means self-sufficient.
This is interesting because in Christian theology, we recognize that God is the only being that is self-sufficient. God exists apart from all other things and is dependent upon no one. And if your ear is trained to Scripture, to hear a man say, “I am self-sufficient,” may sound a little blasphemous.
But we must understand what Paul is saying. Paul is certainly not denying his dependence upon God. If anyone knows his complete reliance upon God it is the Apostle Paul. He is, however, saying that he is not dependent on something. He is self-sufficient in that he is not dependent upon his surroundings for his happiness. He is content in that he does not need his environment to be perfect in order to be joyful.
Think about this as a great definition of what contentment really is. It is that satisfaction in life that comes from recognizing that you are sufficiently supplied for. You are living with joy because your joy is not attached to what you gain or what you lose. There is this feeling of sufficiency that transcends the amount of possessions you have, the quality of relationships around you, or conditions of your environment, or even the weather.
You know I’ve been doing a lot study in the world of counseling as of late. You know the world has a different approach to emotional problems. Well there is one diagnosis that they have called “SAD.” It stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. And people who live in extreme northern or southern locations are diagnosed with it. It’s where there are long periods of darkness through the winter months. Seasonal affective disorder is when you get down during those dark seasons.
Well, you know what part of the problem is there? People feel that their happiness in life is dependent upon the amount of sun you get.
I agree that the sun is a wonderful thing. But our happiness isn’t dependent upon the brightness of the sky. I am self-sufficient in that regard. I can be completely content in utter darkness—I can be fully satisfied with the pitch black because there is a rich supply of something else.
Where is the focus then? If it’s not in your surroundings, where is your contentment pinpointed?
II. Its focus
That’s where we can back up to verse 10. Paul says, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly.” Where was his joy? It was zeroed in, not on what he had or didn’t have; it was focused on Christ.
Contentment is something that doesn’t look at your surroundings, but it looks above them to the source of all joy and good: to God himself. Real contentment is not in what you have or don’t have; its not in a possession, but in a person. Contentment is ultimately relational. That’s the real key. It’s not environmental; it’s relational. It has to do with the fact that Christ is everything to us and he is taking care of us.
Look at what Paul says there again. He’s very strategic in his language. Paul does not say, “I rejoiced in your gift.” Neither does Paul say, I rejoiced in you for remembering me (or reviving your concern for me). He rejoiced in the Lord that these Philippians had renewed their support.
Do you see what Paul is doing? He’s recognizing that God is sovereign over the Philippians. They may have sent him the gift; but it was God who was ultimately in control. God was the one who induced them to send the gift. God was the one who renewed their interest.
Someone may come along and be dissatisfied with their husband or their wife. And you know what? You should be! There’s probably not a lot to rejoice in when you get down to it. When you are looking to a person to make you happy, you’re always going to be dissatisfied. They will leave the toilet seat up, the cap off the toothpaste, their socks will be sitting in the middle of the living room floor. They won’t give you the attention want or by you the little surprises that tell of the depths of their love for you. The list will go on and on.
But no matter how bad your relationships is, you can still be content with it. I have learned to be content in every circumstance. I can rejoice not in what he or she does or the degree of his or her affection, but in the God who has seen fit to place me in this relationship. I can be self sufficient because God’s supply of this person (with all their antics) was without error.
I am content because (despite this person’s treatment of me) His grace is sufficient for me. As a matter of fact, God’s grace is so satisfying that I can love this person unconditionally—i.e. despite the way they treat me. God has entered into a relationships with me and has loved me with a love that is infinite. He’s even given his Son for my sake. That satisfies my craving for love and relationship. And because it is so satisfying, I can now love and serve in a way that parallels His love.
This also applies to the single person too, of course. Rick Phillips is a pastor in South Carolina (I believe). He tells about a woman in his congregation who once said that she was sick of all the women who were complaining about having husbands. She said, “They don’t know how good they have it. I would give anything to have a godly man.” He said that it wasn’t long that she did get married and she came to him. She was complaining about how dissatisfied she was with her husband. He said, “Before we talk about that I just want to laugh in your face.”
Why wasn’t she satisfied? It was because her contentment was focused on a man and not the all sufficiency of God. And Philips said, “If you are not content as a single person, you will not be content as a married person.”
It is only when you are married to Christ and see him and his care for you as all sufficient that you’ll be freed from the dependency on other people.
It’s all about your focus, and your focus has to be on the Lord. That’s where contentment lies. Let me round this out with two other quotes I robbed from Jeremiah Borroughs…
“Contentment is not by addition but by subtraction: seeking to add a thing will not bring contentment. Instead, subtracting from your desires until you are satisfied only with Christ brings contentment.”
“If riches increase, set not your hearts upon them: so if friends increase, set not your hearts upon them, but trust in the living God, let it be the living God that you rest on even for all outward things in this world.”
That’s got to be your focus. You must transcend the things of this world (or the people of this world) to find your greatest delight in the Lord, rejoicing in His perfect will for your life.
There’s another key to unlocking the secret of contentment though. Not only must you know its nature and its focus, you must also know something about its development.
III. Its development [11-12]
I want you to notice what Paul says in verses 11-12. Paul says that he has learned this behavior. He actually says it twice. Contentment didn’t come by a fluke. It wasn’t something that came naturally.
Some people have a natural talent. That they pick up skills quickly. I know that when I played football, some guys just had a natural ability to catch a football and run with it. Other guys were not all that good by comparison because they just didn’t have the innate skill. They were worlds behind. They had to work harder and practice more. They had to put extra concentration into the drills to get better, and their development was incremental. They really had to work at it to learn to become better football players.
Paul is saying that our skillset here is naturally deficient. We are worldlings and we are naturally discontent. And so that means we, like Paul, need to learn the behavior. Which means it takes a lot of personal training to develop a competency in this area.
Part of this means that you need to analyze your life and see if there are any contributing factors. If you are one who follows the news cycles or listens to a bunch of talk radio, you may have to cut those things out of your life. That’s just a bunch of discontent people ranting about things they are not happy about. It’s one thing to stay up on the news; it’s a whole different thing to be so wrapped up in the day to day complaining that goes on about the news (or in the news, as the case may be).
Think about that, if you are discontent with your house or your counter tops, it’s probable not wise for you to be watching the shows about home renovations and drooling all over the appliances and new cupboards that these people are getting. You may need to cut those things out and replace them with something that’s not going to reinforce your discontent.
And you will have to work to develop the skill. You have to tell your self, “No, I’m not going to complain about this. I’m going to praise God for this.” “I’m going to resist the urge to be saddened by what he or she has” “I’m going to delight myself in the fact that God has seen fit to take this away from me.”
That will not be easy. It is a learned behavior and it takes a lot of work, just like in sports. You have to train yourself through repeated drilling and practice. But it all boils down to this: When you are unsatisfied, you are going to figure out what your idol is that you are chasing and smash that thing on the tile floor, putting your trust in God.
This then brings up our last point: We need to talk about the possibility of contentment.
IV. Its possibility
Some may think that learning this lesson isn’t possible. Discontent is entrenched in the heart. That’s our default due to our depravity.
As a matter of fact, some people are so discontent that it expresses itself outwardly. Have you seen people who have faces that are constant expressions of being displeased? The years of not having contentment in Christ has burned its impression into the very framework of the face.
And you may be caught in a cycle of discontent that you don’t feel you can extrapolate yourself from. People with eating disorders find their appearance so dissatisfying that they can’t even look in mirrors or bring themselves to pick up a carrot and eat it.
That OCD you have; it seems that it has a power over you that you can’t cut loose.
I want you to know it is possible to be content. And it is possible because God’s power is at work in us who believe through the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 13: It says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
How was Paul able to be content despite the loss of so much in his life? There’s only one reason: it was because he was operating on the basis of God’s power. God gave him the strength to do it. And it is the only way we can gain victory in this area too.
This, of course, is one of those verses that is often pulled out of context. People think of it as the chief verse for power lifters. I can do all things through him who strengthens me, including lifting this 500 pound weight.
Sometimes people think of this verse in connection with coming to the rescue of someone caught under a car. Through the power of Christ you come running up and you hoist the frame of the car up and toss it aside like some sort of superhero, then you turn to the cameraman and say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
So you get the idea that this is the verse that can make you into some sort of Samson. But this isn’t talking about lifting cars or achieving some sort of outlandish dream. It’s talking about something much harder.
Let’s be real, being content is much more difficult than picking up a semi truck. Being content is pretty much impossible—at least in our own strength. We can’t do it. It flies against our nature. What we need to do is go against our nature, and you know that is impossible. A guy who is weak in nature, cannot pick up a car or a 500lbs weight.
So it may very well feel impossible. And we recognize that by our own power, it is impossible. But we have a resource that makes it possible. We have God’s divine power and it is active in us.
It is the same power that was expressed in Christ himself. There he was on the cross, at the very end of his sufferings. The excruciating pain drawing the life out of him. Despite being on the tail end of asphyxiation, he pushed himself up and said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”
He was in great pain; he felt like the one being who had been his constant happiness was drawing away from him. But in the midst of the agonizing terror, he still cried out for his Father. He didn’t put it all on pause. He didn’t step down from the cross. His satisfaction was not in his health or physical wellness, it was in the Father and the Father’s will.
That Christ lives in us. That power is available to us because of him who gave his life for us.
So we can be content. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
And that is the greatest key to the secret of contentment. And it is all ours in Christ.
I’ve said the last several weeks that this chapter deals with the three of the top 5 problems that humans face: conflict, anxiety, and depression. I stand corrected this morning. It deals with 4 of the top 5 problems. Our passage today deals with yet another endemic conundrum which we face. It is the problem of contentment.
I’m sure you know well the extent of this sin in our world. It is at the bottom of many girls who struggle with eating disorders (because they are dissatisfied with their looks). It is at root of most who have OCD (because it is about discontent with messes or a desire to control one’s environment). Even you may have had minor expressions of these problems this morning. As you looked in the mirror to get ready you weren’t satisfied with the way you look. You were discontent with your children’s behavior or your brothers’ unkindness. You may even be discontent that you have to be here and listen to me for the next 35 minutes.
We will talk about other expressions of this problem, but the list could certainly go on and on. And we know that to find contentment is to find lost treasure and a rare jewel. But our text for this morning gives us the treasure map where we can unearth this glorious prize. So let’s give our attention to God’s holy Word.
Philippians 4:10-13 ESV 10
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 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. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
This past week during my preparations I came across an article which I think strikes quite true to the issue that we are addressing this morning. The author said this:
Over the past few years I’ve come to the conclusion that our society lives in a constant state of discontentment. We’re not happy with our leaders, with our spouse, our children, or the things that we have. Our house is too small, our TV is an older model and our smartphone doesn’t have the latest 4G technology. So what’s a person to do in order to find contentment in such a restless world, and why can’t we seem to find the contentment that we’re looking for?
Many of us are trying to fill a void of some kind in our lives, and unfortunately we try to fill that void with things that can’t satisfy. We look to fill the void with possessions or money, but we only end up wanting more. We try to fill it with relationships or sex, but we end up feeling even more empty and depressed than when we started.
Wealth is “like seawater: the more you drink, the thirstier you become.” – philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer
All of these things we try to fill our lives with aren’t necessarily bad things, but when they become the end goals, and the reason for our being, we end up being discontent because those things were never meant to fulfill us.
All of what is said here is right on target and highlights the real need for the people of our day to come to terms with the biblical notion of contentment. We live in a world that is filled with discontent over almost every possible thing.
But the good news is that you and I who have Christ can gain what most of the world is missing. As a matter of fact, Paul uses an interesting word in this passage. He says he “learned the secret” of being content. The word here was used within the ancient mystery cults. Once you went through the initiation of these cults, you were supposed to have received a secret knowledge. You were supposed to have entered an elite group of enlightened people, possessing understanding that most of the world did not supposedly have.
Paul takes this word and applies it to the Christian realm. He uses it in regards to how we can become spiritually enlightened. While the rest of the world lives in the drudgery of discontent, we can gain the understanding that leads to a contented life.
And our passage this morning gives us the keys to unlocking that secret. And so I encourage you to give special ear to what is said in this portion of God’s Word.
The first thing that we must do is understand what contentment is. How do we define contentment?
I. It’s nature
A typical dictionary will say that it is “a state of happiness and satisfaction.”
That’s a pretty good generic definition. It would be like this: Kids, let’s pretend you are in the play room with a friend or with one of your siblings. Your friend reaches into the toy box and pulls out a toy from the very bottom. You haven’t played with that toy for years. As a matter of fact, you haven’t even seen it for some months. But as soon as you see him playing with it, what happens? You are suddenly filled with discontent. You gotta have that toy. You are not satisfied with the thousands of other toys in that room; you have to have that one! And so you run over and pull it out of their hands and start playing with it.
That’s discontent. If you were content, you’d be happy that he had that toy and that you could play with it later. You’d be satisfied with all the other things with which to play.
So you can think of contentment like that: a simple state of happiness or satisfaction. That’s one way to define it. But there’s another way to define it.
You may have gotten a birthday email from the church this past year. If you did, you may have noticed that there was a “gift” included. It was an ebook by a puritan named Jeremiah Boroughs, entitled, “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.” It was a book on he defines contentment this way:
“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.”
I like that definition because it stresses the inward disposition and the virtues that characterize contentment: sweet, quiet, gracious. You’re submitting to and delighting in God and His Providence. So whatever comes your way, you’ll be at peace with that.
Let’s go back to our illustration. Let’s you are in the play room and you just pulled out that toy that hasn’t been played with for years. Your brother sees it and comes and rips it out of your hands. Jeremiah Boroughs says that contentment is that sweet and gracious frame of spirit you’ll have that delights in and submits to this providence.
But how do we really act? For most of us it usually starts with frantic screaming, hitting, and culminates in you yelling, “MOOOOOMMMMM!
Boroughs at least gives us something to aim for and helps us understand the distinctly Christian idea of contentment.
But I’d like you to notice how the Apostle Paul defines contentment. The word he uses in verse 11 is quite interesting. We translate it as content in our English Bibles, but it is actually a word that means self-sufficient.
This is interesting because in Christian theology, we recognize that God is the only being that is self-sufficient. God exists apart from all other things and is dependent upon no one. And if your ear is trained to Scripture, to hear a man say, “I am self-sufficient,” may sound a little blasphemous.
But we must understand what Paul is saying. Paul is certainly not denying his dependence upon God. If anyone knows his complete reliance upon God it is the Apostle Paul. He is, however, saying that he is not dependent on something. He is self-sufficient in that he is not dependent upon his surroundings for his happiness. He is content in that he does not need his environment to be perfect in order to be joyful.
Think about this as a great definition of what contentment really is. It is that satisfaction in life that comes from recognizing that you are sufficiently supplied for. You are living with joy because your joy is not attached to what you gain or what you lose. There is this feeling of sufficiency that transcends the amount of possessions you have, the quality of relationships around you, or conditions of your environment, or even the weather.
You know I’ve been doing a lot study in the world of counseling as of late. You know the world has a different approach to emotional problems. Well there is one diagnosis that they have called “SAD.” It stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. And people who live in extreme northern or southern locations are diagnosed with it. It’s where there are long periods of darkness through the winter months. Seasonal affective disorder is when you get down during those dark seasons.
Well, you know what part of the problem is there? People feel that their happiness in life is dependent upon the amount of sun you get.
I agree that the sun is a wonderful thing. But our happiness isn’t dependent upon the brightness of the sky. I am self-sufficient in that regard. I can be completely content in utter darkness—I can be fully satisfied with the pitch black because there is a rich supply of something else.
Where is the focus then? If it’s not in your surroundings, where is your contentment pinpointed?
II. Its focus
That’s where we can back up to verse 10. Paul says, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly.” Where was his joy? It was zeroed in, not on what he had or didn’t have; it was focused on Christ.
Contentment is something that doesn’t look at your surroundings, but it looks above them to the source of all joy and good: to God himself. Real contentment is not in what you have or don’t have; its not in a possession, but in a person. Contentment is ultimately relational. That’s the real key. It’s not environmental; it’s relational. It has to do with the fact that Christ is everything to us and he is taking care of us.
Look at what Paul says there again. He’s very strategic in his language. Paul does not say, “I rejoiced in your gift.” Neither does Paul say, I rejoiced in you for remembering me (or reviving your concern for me). He rejoiced in the Lord that these Philippians had renewed their support.
Do you see what Paul is doing? He’s recognizing that God is sovereign over the Philippians. They may have sent him the gift; but it was God who was ultimately in control. God was the one who induced them to send the gift. God was the one who renewed their interest.
Someone may come along and be dissatisfied with their husband or their wife. And you know what? You should be! There’s probably not a lot to rejoice in when you get down to it. When you are looking to a person to make you happy, you’re always going to be dissatisfied. They will leave the toilet seat up, the cap off the toothpaste, their socks will be sitting in the middle of the living room floor. They won’t give you the attention want or by you the little surprises that tell of the depths of their love for you. The list will go on and on.
But no matter how bad your relationships is, you can still be content with it. I have learned to be content in every circumstance. I can rejoice not in what he or she does or the degree of his or her affection, but in the God who has seen fit to place me in this relationship. I can be self sufficient because God’s supply of this person (with all their antics) was without error.
I am content because (despite this person’s treatment of me) His grace is sufficient for me. As a matter of fact, God’s grace is so satisfying that I can love this person unconditionally—i.e. despite the way they treat me. God has entered into a relationships with me and has loved me with a love that is infinite. He’s even given his Son for my sake. That satisfies my craving for love and relationship. And because it is so satisfying, I can now love and serve in a way that parallels His love.
This also applies to the single person too, of course. Rick Phillips is a pastor in South Carolina (I believe). He tells about a woman in his congregation who once said that she was sick of all the women who were complaining about having husbands. She said, “They don’t know how good they have it. I would give anything to have a godly man.” He said that it wasn’t long that she did get married and she came to him. She was complaining about how dissatisfied she was with her husband. He said, “Before we talk about that I just want to laugh in your face.”
Why wasn’t she satisfied? It was because her contentment was focused on a man and not the all sufficiency of God. And Philips said, “If you are not content as a single person, you will not be content as a married person.”
It is only when you are married to Christ and see him and his care for you as all sufficient that you’ll be freed from the dependency on other people.
It’s all about your focus, and your focus has to be on the Lord. That’s where contentment lies. Let me round this out with two other quotes I robbed from Jeremiah Borroughs…
“Contentment is not by addition but by subtraction: seeking to add a thing will not bring contentment. Instead, subtracting from your desires until you are satisfied only with Christ brings contentment.”
“If riches increase, set not your hearts upon them: so if friends increase, set not your hearts upon them, but trust in the living God, let it be the living God that you rest on even for all outward things in this world.”
That’s got to be your focus. You must transcend the things of this world (or the people of this world) to find your greatest delight in the Lord, rejoicing in His perfect will for your life.
There’s another key to unlocking the secret of contentment though. Not only must you know its nature and its focus, you must also know something about its development.
III. Its development [11-12]
I want you to notice what Paul says in verses 11-12. Paul says that he has learned this behavior. He actually says it twice. Contentment didn’t come by a fluke. It wasn’t something that came naturally.
Some people have a natural talent. That they pick up skills quickly. I know that when I played football, some guys just had a natural ability to catch a football and run with it. Other guys were not all that good by comparison because they just didn’t have the innate skill. They were worlds behind. They had to work harder and practice more. They had to put extra concentration into the drills to get better, and their development was incremental. They really had to work at it to learn to become better football players.
Paul is saying that our skillset here is naturally deficient. We are worldlings and we are naturally discontent. And so that means we, like Paul, need to learn the behavior. Which means it takes a lot of personal training to develop a competency in this area.
Part of this means that you need to analyze your life and see if there are any contributing factors. If you are one who follows the news cycles or listens to a bunch of talk radio, you may have to cut those things out of your life. That’s just a bunch of discontent people ranting about things they are not happy about. It’s one thing to stay up on the news; it’s a whole different thing to be so wrapped up in the day to day complaining that goes on about the news (or in the news, as the case may be).
Think about that, if you are discontent with your house or your counter tops, it’s probable not wise for you to be watching the shows about home renovations and drooling all over the appliances and new cupboards that these people are getting. You may need to cut those things out and replace them with something that’s not going to reinforce your discontent.
And you will have to work to develop the skill. You have to tell your self, “No, I’m not going to complain about this. I’m going to praise God for this.” “I’m going to resist the urge to be saddened by what he or she has” “I’m going to delight myself in the fact that God has seen fit to take this away from me.”
That will not be easy. It is a learned behavior and it takes a lot of work, just like in sports. You have to train yourself through repeated drilling and practice. But it all boils down to this: When you are unsatisfied, you are going to figure out what your idol is that you are chasing and smash that thing on the tile floor, putting your trust in God.
This then brings up our last point: We need to talk about the possibility of contentment.
IV. Its possibility
Some may think that learning this lesson isn’t possible. Discontent is entrenched in the heart. That’s our default due to our depravity.
As a matter of fact, some people are so discontent that it expresses itself outwardly. Have you seen people who have faces that are constant expressions of being displeased? The years of not having contentment in Christ has burned its impression into the very framework of the face.
And you may be caught in a cycle of discontent that you don’t feel you can extrapolate yourself from. People with eating disorders find their appearance so dissatisfying that they can’t even look in mirrors or bring themselves to pick up a carrot and eat it.
That OCD you have; it seems that it has a power over you that you can’t cut loose.
I want you to know it is possible to be content. And it is possible because God’s power is at work in us who believe through the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 13: It says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
How was Paul able to be content despite the loss of so much in his life? There’s only one reason: it was because he was operating on the basis of God’s power. God gave him the strength to do it. And it is the only way we can gain victory in this area too.
This, of course, is one of those verses that is often pulled out of context. People think of it as the chief verse for power lifters. I can do all things through him who strengthens me, including lifting this 500 pound weight.
Sometimes people think of this verse in connection with coming to the rescue of someone caught under a car. Through the power of Christ you come running up and you hoist the frame of the car up and toss it aside like some sort of superhero, then you turn to the cameraman and say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
So you get the idea that this is the verse that can make you into some sort of Samson. But this isn’t talking about lifting cars or achieving some sort of outlandish dream. It’s talking about something much harder.
Let’s be real, being content is much more difficult than picking up a semi truck. Being content is pretty much impossible—at least in our own strength. We can’t do it. It flies against our nature. What we need to do is go against our nature, and you know that is impossible. A guy who is weak in nature, cannot pick up a car or a 500lbs weight.
So it may very well feel impossible. And we recognize that by our own power, it is impossible. But we have a resource that makes it possible. We have God’s divine power and it is active in us.
It is the same power that was expressed in Christ himself. There he was on the cross, at the very end of his sufferings. The excruciating pain drawing the life out of him. Despite being on the tail end of asphyxiation, he pushed himself up and said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”
He was in great pain; he felt like the one being who had been his constant happiness was drawing away from him. But in the midst of the agonizing terror, he still cried out for his Father. He didn’t put it all on pause. He didn’t step down from the cross. His satisfaction was not in his health or physical wellness, it was in the Father and the Father’s will.
That Christ lives in us. That power is available to us because of him who gave his life for us.
So we can be content. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
And that is the greatest key to the secret of contentment. And it is all ours in Christ.