Faith Is the Victory, Part Four Discontent, An Enemy of Faith

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” Philippians 4:12

Contentment Defined

We have been speaking about the manifestations of unbelief that detract from the living, obedient, persevering faith God wants us to enjoy. One such manifestation is anxiety; in this study, we want to consider the opposite of anxiety, which is contentment.

In the Greek, the word for contentment is autarkeia. The Stoics and Cynics understood this word to mean being self-sufficient and independent from one’s circumstances. It is the idea of keeping a stiff upper lip in any and every situation. It is the sheer will power exercised by Socrates as he drank the cup of poison.

The apostle Paul uses the same word in Philippians 4:11-12, but he means something very different. Biblical contentment is certainly freedom from one’s situation. But it is not self-sufficiency, as the Cynics and the Stoics understood it. Nor is Paul referring to the modern understanding of contentment, by which we mean putting up with and enduring a situation because we cannot do anything else. Contentment here means being happy and satisfied, irrespective of our situation. It is analogous to being invited to someone’s home when we are hungry and being given a sumptuous meal. We eat and eat until we finally say, “I do not want any more; I am content.” We are not just putting up with something; we are fully satisfied.

I suspect that many of us are not content with our situation in life-with our appearance, with our children, with our jobs, or with our health. But the Lord Jesus does not want us to be discontent. The psalmist declares, “You fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11). We are not called to merely endure or put up with our circumstances for Jesus’ sake. That is not the gospel. Jesus Christ makes us happy and satisfied. If any of us are not satisfied, if we are slaves to our circumstances, I hope we will pay attention, for the key to contentment is disclosed in this passage.

Unbearable Circumstances

What were the conditions in which Saul of Tarsus wrote this passage? First, we must realize that Saul was no ordinary man. Because his father was a Roman citizen, Saul himself was born a citizen of Rome. He grew up in a rich and highly privileged household in which the many household slaves took care of every aspect of his life. He was highly educated, having attended the university of Tarsus and, later, the university of Jerusalem, where he studied under the famous professor Gamaliel. But the Lord called him, and now we see him languishing in a prison, deprived of everything.

Imagine taking away our children’s designer water, designer cell phones, and designer computers. Then take away their food, their beds, and their clothing-everything that they need. We can picture their misery. Or suppose our own clothes are taken away and we are put in chains, with soldiers on either side of us. We may have traveled the world freely before, but now we have no freedom. There is no privacy and no comfort in the dark, damp, cold dungeon we have been thrown into.

Joy in the Lord

It was in these most unbearable of circumstances that Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians. He begins chapter 4 with a command: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (v. 4). Here is true Christianity! As we said, biblical contentment is not merely putting up with something. It is experiencing such inexpressible joy in God in spite of our circumstances.

Then Paul declares in verse 10, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord,” and we must catch ourselves to remember who is speaking. Dispossessed of his belongings, in a dungeon, chained to soldiers, with no food or clothing, Paul does not simply say, “I rejoice,” but, “I rejoice greatly.” In spite of such extreme deprivation, Paul is expressing his great joy “en tou Kuriou – in the Lord.” That is the key to Paul’s contentment.

Freedom from Need

When I look at many people, especially some young people, I can see boredom in their faces. They are given everything, and yet they are bored to death. We may take them on expensive trips, or buy them closets full of clothes, but they remain bored. This is the curse of this country. In spite of all the material advantages, we are bored. But here is a man deprived of everything, especially his freedom and privacy, yet he writes by the Holy Spirit, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord . . . .”

Paul continues, “that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you have had no opportunity to show it.” Then in verse 11 he makes another amazing statement: “I am not saying this because I am in need.” Today, all we think we need is money. But here this man who has lost everything says, “I am not in need.”

How can Paul say this? His statement is so surprising that we may think that he is not telling the truth. But an apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ cannot lie. Writing under the full inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul was telling the Philippians, “I am not looking for your money, nor do I want you to feel sorry for me. I am truly not in need.”

School of Contentment

Then Paul gives the reason for his declaration: “For I have learned to be content. . . .” The Christian life is a life of learning to be content. If we are not content, then we have not learned well. And such learning is a process, not a one-time event. God takes us through various experiences in order to teach us contentment in him alone.

But Paul does not say, “I am learning”; he declares, “I have learned.” You see, Paul’s learning was over. He had graduated. And now he knew how to be content even when deprived of everything. We tend to think a little more money is all we need. If we only had a bigger house, a newer car, a better phone, nicer clothes, a larger bed, we would be happy. We try to find happiness in things.

But Paul says, “I have learned.” After many years, he now can be content, whatever his circumstances. This is true autarkeia-an independence such that he did not depend on any human being or any material possession for his happiness.

Situations are undependable; they are always changing. But Paul learned what it means to be free, to be independent of changing situations. He learned to be happy, satisfied, and full, no matter what circumstances in which he found himself. (PGM) Our problem is that we do become miserable and discontent whenever our situation changes. We have not learned the lesson of what it means to be content.

Not only does Paul say, “I have learned,” but in verse 12 he declares, “I know.” What does he know? “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty,” or, “I know how to be abased and I know how to abound.” You see, life is not a steady state. We may be brought low or we may abound. Yet Paul knew how to be content in every situation.

Instruction in Contentment

In verse 12 Paul says once again, “I have learned.” This is better translated, “I have been instructed in the secret of,” or, “I have been initiated into the secret of.” The Christian life consists of instruction in the secret of happiness and contentment. And who is the instructor? The Lord himself brought Paul to this place of independence. Thus, Paul could say, “I am content when I am in need, and when I abound; I am content when I am hungry, and when I am filled. I am content when I am in chains, and when I am set free. My happiness has no connection with my circumstances. I refuse to depend on things or people to make me happy.” That is real freedom.

So Paul declares, “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.” Can we say that? I pray that God will bring us to the place where we can say with Paul that situations have no bearing on our happiness! After many years of following Christ and being instructed by him, Paul learned this lesson well.

The Key to Contentment

Finally, in verse 13, Paul reveals the secret of his contentment: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” In the Greek text this verse begins, “I am able for all things.” “All things” means when we are brought low and when we are raised up, when we are deprived of food and when we have plenty, when people love us and when people hate us, when we are sick and when we are healthy, and so on.

What, then, was the difference between Paul and the Cynics? They spoke about self-sufficiency, but Paul is saying, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength, through him who infuses strength into me, through him who strengthens me moment by moment.” So this is not self-sufficiency; it is Savior-sufficiency, Christ-sufficiency, based on the vital union Paul had with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul began this chapter: “I rejoice greatly in the Lord.” When he was deprived of everything, there was one thing he could still count on. In 2 Timothy 4 he wrote that when all the people in Asia abandoned him, there was One who stood with him. And now that One was in prison with him. When all deserted him, there was One who said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Paul’s secret was the wonderful communion he cultivated with the Lord. Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” This faith union with Jesus Christ means that his all-sufficient grace, power, and wisdom flows into us from the vine, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

That was Paul’s secret, and we must learn it too, for one day our health may be gone, and we will be dependent on others; our uncertain riches may fly away; our spouses may walk out on us; our children may abandon us; our employers may declare bankruptcy, and the judge may throw out all the pension contracts that we depended on. Even our church leaders may prove to be frauds-those of whom we thought, “At least we can depend on them.” Things change, people change, and relationships change. This is reality.

What, then, is the key to contentment? Paul said, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord.” We must develop a relationship with the Lord on a daily basis through reading and believing the word, and through prayer. Commune with him and love him more than anything else in the world. In fact, God has a way of helping us to do this. If we have trouble finding time with the Lord, he will take away one comfort after another, until we are left with just him. When all distractions are gone, he will say, “All right. Let’s talk. How is life? What’s happening?” And all of a sudden we will discover the secret of real happiness: “I am able for all things through him who strengtheneth me.”

Our God will never leave us nor forsake us; and he will strengthen us throughout our life. Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Though all others may leave us and forsake us, he will never do so. In Isaiah 46:4 we read, “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

If our contentment is dependent upon situations and people, then we will be disappointed, for people do let us down. Paul was familiar with this truth. In 2 Timothy 4:16 he wrote, “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.” That is what happens when we depend on people. But Paul knew where his strength lay. He says in verse 17: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.”

The Lord also stood at Paul’s side as he was led out for martyrdom. And I have a suspicion Paul was content even in martyrdom, for he had said, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain . . . I desire to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:21, 23).

It is to this contentment God has called us. He is with us and he will infuse into us all the strength and grace necessary. You say you are weak? Then rejoice, because God himself will stand with you and make you strong. He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). I pray we will all cultivate such a vital relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and find our contentment in him. In his presence there is fullness of joy, and on his right hand, pleasures forevermore.