The Secret to Contentment

"You are to be content because you understand that an utterly and totally and infinitely and supernaturally resourceful God will never leave you or forsake you. Contentment is a virtue, contentment is a command." -John MacArthur

As my time in Philippians continues I am more and more encouraged by the letter from Paul; I can't get around the reality that he is writing from prison enduring a ton of persecution and yet writes with such selfless love and joy. In Paul's letter to the church at Philippi he addresses the idea of contentment in the last chapter (4) and we read this phrase, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." Paul is making a HUGE statement as he claims to have in essence found the secret of Christian contentment. How can he claim such a thing? And if this really is true, where and how did He obtain this precious thing?

The Bible has a lot to say about contentment, in fact Paul's disciple, Timothy says that with contentment there is GREAT gain. The reality for most Christians however is the lack of contentment, the constant pining after it and yet the despair often times in not finding it consistently. Let's face it, when things are going well for us it is easy to be "content" or so we think we are, and yet we are often tempted to forget the good and gracious God who provided those blessing surrounding us. And then when circumstances and events are not going our way the natural response from the flesh, which often times overtakes the spirit, seems to be this wallowing self-pity, or worry or doubt in the good God and the lack of contentment which soon plagues the heart.

One must realize in reading this letter that Paul is a prisoner in chains as he writes, in fact it gets only worse, he is most likely living with just enough provision to survive, in isolation, and with no ability to minister in the capacity in which he is used to; and yet despite all of this he is claiming contentment and encouraging the brethren in that. Paul himself at this point had just spoke of the idea of Christian consistency or spiritual stability and then he goes into this idea. John MacArthur did a great job in describing what this little word actually means, "By the way, let me comment at least briefly on the word "content." It's a marvelous word. It goes way back to the Greek term which meant to be self-sufficient, to be satisfied, to have enough. The term actually indicates a certain independence, a certain lack of necessity for aid or help. In fact, it was used in some places outside the Scripture to refer to a person who supported himself without anyone's aid. Paul is saying, "I have learned to be satisfied, I've learned to be sufficient in myself, and yet not in myself as myself, but in myself as indwelt by Christ." He had come to spiritual contentment. This particular self-sufficiency had been made a virtue in Greek culture by the Stoics. The Stoics believed that this concept of contentment was reached when you had come to the point of total indifference, when you were indifferent to everything, then and only then would you be content."

So we need to ask ourselves, can we say that no matter what we are content in Christ, fully satisfied?

We must first realize God's providence in our lives. Paul seemed to express His confidence in this more than almost anyone else in all the Bible. Despite the chains, persecutions and hardships he endured He trusted in God's providence over all the affairs of His life. Do we? We may say that we believe God is sovereign and ruling and reigning but to we behave that way? When things don't go our way are we content in Christ and knowing that it is God who is at work even in the midst of that tough, confusing and painful situation? "Providence is a term to indicate that God provides, is connected to the term provide. That God provides but it really means more than that, it means that He orchestrates everything to accomplish His purpose." -John MacArthur. Are you confident, like Paul was, that God is in charge?

Paul also teaches us to find satisfaction in "little". In verse 11 he explains that he is not speaking from "want". He was satisfied with the bear minimum. This is tough for us to grasp and to even write or talk about because of the culture and society in which we live, where we abound with much more than we need. Now I am not saying that we shouldn't enjoy the good gifts God has given us, we should, but rather that when we come to a place when we are with "little" like Paul, whether it be in actual physical or material things or in relationship or whatever the case is, are we content? Are we satisfied, again, are we satisfied in Christ?

Paul also realized that he was independent so to speak from his circumstances. In other words, Paul is saying that in WHATEVER circumstance (whether in abundance or in need) he is content, fully satisfied. He and we are never victims of our circumstances in life but rather must recognize the providence of the sovereign God and find our satisfaction wholly in Him.

There is so much to gain from Paul on this idea and I encourage you to study this passage and recommend John MacArthur's messages on the topic as I have pulled ideas from them. But I do have to say that what I see ultimately, and a point JMAC pointed out, is that Paul found His contentment because He was sustained by divine power. In verse 13 it says I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME, that is a radical, a very radical statement. John MacArthur puts it well, "What he is simply saying is in those exogenous of life, those extremities of life where I have no more human resources, I am infused with the strength of Christ. The Bible says, "To him who has no might, He increases strength." And Isaiah says in chapter 40, that great and familiar thirty-first verse, "That when we would faint and grow weary, we automatically feel the power of God and mount up as wings as eagles." Now listen to this. He found his contentment in the manifest strength of Christ that comes to the believer when he has exhausted his human resources. Now let me translate that into what I'm saying...contentment is a byproduct of distress. Contentment comes when you experience the sustaining power of Christ in those times when you have no human strength. To him who has no might, God increases strength. If you've never been there, maybe you've never experienced it. Paul says, "I'm content, I've seen the power of God." We should be praying, you know, for enough distress in our life, for enough difficulty in our life to cast us on Christ that we might see His power explode in our behalf and therein to be content."

So the question I ask myself and all of you as well is are you content, fully satisfied in Christ alone as Paul was?