“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11).
Can you honestly imagine being able to echo these great words of the apostle Paul? Could such a statement ever be true of you? As difficult as that might seem in our fallen, hurting, broken world, these words can be as true for you as they were for Paul. The secret to this caliber of spiritual success is in being seized by the truth of the Gospel.
Notice that Paul said he had “learned” to be content. Contentment in crisis did not come naturally to him, just as it does not come naturally to you or me. We are by nature discontent. We whine, grumble, and complain every bit as much as the Israelites did after having been freed from four hundred years of slavery in Egypt. For the children of Israel, the menu was more important than the Master; they were ruled by their stomach, rather than their Savior.
Paul, on the other hand, was able to detach himself from his surrounding circumstances. Yet this ability to be content did not happen in a day. It happened daily as Paul was able to draw on his understanding of the Gospel and what Jesus Christ had done for him. Whether in plenty or in want, in sickness or in health, contentment was a reality for Paul because he focused on the one thing that could never be taken from him: his Lord and Savior. Paul focused more on his calling than he did on his circumstances. Had he been ordering his life based on ministerial success, material gain, or the approval of others, he would never have been able to find contentment! But Paul had Jesus, and Jesus was enough.
So how have you been doing in the area of contentment lately? Would those closest to you say you are a student in the College of Contentment, learning by degrees how to be content in Christ . . . in whatever situation? James Allen said, “Circumstance does not make the man, it reveals him.” You see, it’s not what happens out there that makes the greatest difference in how your life works out; it’s what you do with what happens to you that makes all the difference in the world! Paul was a prisoner in a Philippian jail, afflicted for years by a thorn he was given, suffered all manner of persecution, and yet he was perfectly content to suffer for his Savior. Indeed, he wrote this to the Roman Christians: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5).
To the degree that we understand the Gospel and all that Christ has done for us, we too will be able to endure all things and live a life marked by contentment and love. By grace, we will one day graduate as Paul did from the College of Contentment. This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!
Grace for the Race 