The Secret of Contentment
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Who do you trust to meet your needs?
Earlier this year my wife and I took the kids to San Francisco for the day. We had a blast taking them to the Golden Gate Bridge and walking through the museums. When we finally ended up in Golden Gate Park we saw some four-wheel Surrey tandem bikes and thought it would be fun to rent them for an hour or so. So Kayla and I rented one while we looked at the route we would take.
Looking at the map I was expecting a nice, leisurely ride through the park, maybe seeing some swans or ducks. What the rental company neglected to tell us, was that the path they sent us on wasn’t exactly a flat, leisurely path around the park, but filled with hills and potholes the entire way.
My legs were dying, my back was cramping, it was one the hardest bike rides I’ve ever done in my life. At one point it was easier for me to hop out of the bike and just start pushing my family up the hill rather than pedal.
Unmet Expectations
Life rarely turns out like how we expect it to. It doesn’t always match the map. We don’t always get ideal circumstances. So many times we lose our contentment when the circumstances don’t line up with what we expected.
We spend our lives running around trying to find the right house, the right job, and the right marriage to find contentment. We look for it in promotions and raises. We look for it in relationships and kids. We look for it in personal influence and popularity. The truth is, all of that will fail us. It's never enough. It never satisfies.
Paul was not writing this letter from the comfort of his home. He was writing it from a prison. A jail cell that was little more than a cave or a hole in the ground. Yet he writes,
“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 well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” - Philippians 4:12
Contentment is not found in circumstances. It is not found in meeting our expectations. How often do we try and pedal our way up the hill? Attempting to force our situation to mold itself into what we expect. How often do we try and cultivate our circumstances to meet our perceived needs?
Where Contentment is Found
I believe we must stop relying on our own limited strength to meet our needs and look to the one who has unlimited strength to meet our needs.
Contentment is found in the one who far exceeds our expectations. Contentment is found in Christ Jesus, in the gospel, in the good news of what he has done for us through his life, death, and resurrection. He offers us free forgiveness of sins. His grace and mercy are given without reserve to whoever believes in him. They will not perish but have eternal life. Contentment is truly found in the power of God, the promises of God, and the provision of God, because our God has never failed. God is faithful and loving and he cares about your needs. He cares about the biggest worries that loom in front of you to the smallest things that nag at the corners of your thoughts. He cares about you, and so he cares about every aspect of your life.
Whatever the Circumstances
Paul’s hope wasn’t found in whether he was well-fed or well-provided. He knew he had more than enough in Christ alone. He had learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whatever the circumstances, whatever troubles befall him. He was content because of the finished work of Jesus. He was content because of the grace, mercy, and compassion of the Father. He was content because of the reassurance of the Holy Spirit who worked in him and through him.
We can have that same assurance. We too can learn the secret of contentment. That secret is unveiled in knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior.
