KEYS TO CONTENTMENT
Philippians. 4:1 - 19
Do you remember the prayer of the impatient Christian? It goes something like this, "Lord please give me patience, and I want it right now!" We also know that when we pray for patience we may be praying for trouble because experience and scripture tell us this
is the vehicle God often uses to deliver patience to our door. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James 1:2-4)
We do live in a world of impatience. Our culture has conditioned us to expect instant gratification. We are easily frustrated by the way things are going - or not going. We want quick answers to life's complex questions. We seek immediate solutions to life's insoluble problems. We even seem to want our wars fought in a time frame that will fit into our need for finality and closure. We appear to want others to fit into our schedules, satisfy our needs and further our personal agendas - right now!
Are you one of those who is dissatisfied with your situation? Are you among the many that feel they can never make ends meet financially? Do you feel overwhelmed by your circumstances? When asked how you are going, do you tend to respond, "I'm O. K. under
the circumstances." All the while feeling the circumstances are on top of you rather than vice versa?
Do ever feel there is not enough time in your day to fit in all the many things you want to do? Do have a constant and continuing yearning for things to be better? Do you often feel exhausted, unable to cope and that there is not enough of you to go around
and meet the demands that are placed upon you? If so, then welcome to the most popular club of our time. The Club Of The Discontent!
Why is it so? Why does impatience, frustration, dissatisfaction and discontent seem to be at the core of so many lives? If we are honest, we cannot deny that it is so. We seem to want absolute control of everything and everyone around us. Instead of striving to make the right adjustments; we demand our surroundings adjust to us. If we don't like it, we change it. We change channels. We even seem to go through life with a remote control in our hand. We change jobs. We change locations. We change churches. We change friends. Some even change partners. But wherever change make take us, our baggage of discontent seems to follow along and is never very far behind.
We think that if our circumstances change then we will be satisfied or content. We are always looking for the pastures that are greener. We are always hoping our ship of happiness and satisfaction will finally reach shore. We are always seeking that proverbial pot of golden contentment at the end of our rainbow. We are always reaching for that elusive state of happiness and contentment; much as a child foolishly and futilely grasps
for a floating soap bubble. Just as we think we have it in our grasp, it always seems to burst and vanish into the air of our discontent.
But contentment must be possible in the Christian life. Otherwise Paul would not have given us his testimony of contentment. Nor would he have indicated that such contentment is available to everyone - no matter what the situation or circumstance. His words are clear cut and concise, ". . . for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content." He then gives us some KEYS to CONTENTMENT:
REAL CONTENTMENT IS A STATE OF HEART AND MIND. Paul says, "I have
learned.." At the very outset the great apostle confesses even he has had problems with discontent. He has not always been at complete peace with the world around him. He has not always been fully satisfied with all his circumstances. This will not be news to us if we read the liturgy of his sufferings in his second Corinthian letter. He constantly moved from tribulation to trial and from crisis to catastrophe. If this was not enough, he speaks
of the constant pressure of people problems as he bore the burdens of other saints.
Paul shares the first real key to contentment. We are told that contentment is a learned process. We do not come by it naturally. Some may be born with a silver spoon in their
mouth, but no man is born with golden globe of happiness in his hand. It must be worked at. Like any successful learning process, acquiring contentment requires a disciplined approach. A price must be paid. We know that the medical doctor who hangs that coveted
degree on his wall, did not come by it easily. Hours, days, weeks, months and even years of hard study, sleep deprivation and exhausting work were necessary. The same could be said of the endeavor of many others to reach the top of their professions.
One of our great problems today is that we want the fruit without the labor. We want the reward, without the effort. If we are to be content, we, as Paul, must learn the way of contentment. We must pay the price he paid. We may find ourselves sometimes attending the school of hard knocks and then enrolled in college of crisis and then advancing to the university of adversity. It takes
willingness and effort to achieve anything worthwhile and to learn anything valuable. We cannot just wish things into existence.
Contentment is no different. It must be learned. The state of our heart and the attitude of our mind must be changed. We must learn to be content even in the midst of the storms and strife of life. Contentment in this sense could well be characterized by the concept
given to us by our Savior of peace in the midst of the storm. He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
The basic lesson to be learned is that a change in the focus of our hearts and minds will ultimately result in a change in our system of values and priorities. This in turn will provide a basis for true Godly contentment. Jesus laid the foundation when He said, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. 6:20-21)
Paul built upon this foundation when he said, "Let this mind be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" (Phil. 2:5) And again, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." (Col. 3:2)
REAL CONTENTMENT DOES NOT DEPEND UPON OUR SURROUNDINGS
AND SITUATIONS. Paul continues, "To be content...." Contentment is not external but internal. Contentment involves a certain detachment from anxiety and worry about the external surroundings and situations of life. It entails a quiet acceptance of life as it
happens. The content Christian finds internal strength and sufficiency in Christ; no matter what is happening to him and around him. Events, good or bad, are seen as acceptable and beneficial within the overall scope of God's purpose.
Paul expressed the central philosophy of this Godly contentment this way: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose." (Ro. 8:28) Then with his hands in chains and his head
upon the chopping block underneath the dread Roman executioner's axe, he confirmed his calm conviction when he said, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve [me] unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom [be] glory for ever and ever.." (II
Tim. 4:18)
Such contentment is obviously based upon a deep faith in the providential care of God for His people. When beginning his great roll call of the faithful ones the Hebrew writer had this to say about such faith, " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." We cannot truly have real contentment until we accept everything we cannot yet see clearly as being God's will for our life. Such acceptance by faith does not necessarily mean we condone, agree with, or even like a particular situation or circumstance. But it does involve an internal conclusion that things are as they are and that God has allowed it to be so. For the content Christian, that is enough.
Just recently we had a fun car rally that ended with a church picnic. We had been promoting it for over a month. It was a big day out for those of us who planned it. We were excited about it. To begin with, a number of people had responsibilities of work and family that prevented their participation. Then when we arrived at our beautiful picnic spot, the weather was atrocious for our Gold Coast which boasts of weather that is, "Beautiful one day, perfect the next...." The wind was blowing up a gale and the temperature was far below normal. Most of us had not even brought a jacket.
What were we to do? We went on with the picnic. Great food and fellowship were shared. I personally had a great time afterward
sitting at a table with my wife playing Up Words with a young couple who were just as determined as we were to not let our outward circumstance spoil the day. We couldn't change the circumstance, but we did not have to let the circumstance change us!
REAL CONTENTMENT REQUIRES SURRENDER AND SUBMISSION. Paul
then says, "Whatever the circumstance...." Paul had given over all his rights and privileges to His Savior. He would exercise patience and forbearance and would make no demands about the people who might harm him or the circumstance that might surround him. He
had made a very conscious basic decision, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Ro. 12:21)
We will never be content until we surrender our rights and submit our circumstances and situations to Christ as well. When things go wrong for us aren't we prone to shout in our impatience, "I didn't choose this. This isn't the time. This isn't fair. It's not coming
out the way I wanted." But true contentment would prompt us to lay ourselves upon the altar of His timing, His purpose, and His outcome for our life.
But such submission doesn't come naturally. It's counter to our very being. There are many paradoxes in the Christian life and this is but one of them. We know the way up is down. We know must lose to gain. The know that fastest way forward is upon our knees. Contentment only comes to those who throw in the towel of their own rights, run up the white flag of their own desires and surrender the fort of their own self will; and in doing so graciously accept whatever the Lord has in store for them.
Many years ago I faced a critical personal decision in my life. Being reared in a large family in the depression years in a rural background; the prospect of professional and financial success was especially appealing to me. I had achieved a professional position
in a company that seemed to offer me a future beyond what I could have ever expected. God then spoke to my heart and called me into full time ministry. I must confess I sometimes wondered, "Why me, Lord?" But then God spoke to my heart. He seemed to say, "Just
surrender your rights to me. Give me control of your future and the future of your family. Everything will be okay." In the final analysis, I had no real choice. I had to cast myself upon the Lord. I had to entrust all into His capable hands. It was only then that I found a real peace and contentment in the gospel ministry.
CONTENTMENT DOES NOT DEPEND UPON WORLDLY SUCCESS OR FINANCIAL
SECURITY. Quite the contrary. Contentment depends upon other worldly
success and spiritual security. Paul was very familiar with worldly matters. He knew what it meant to have the plenty that the world associates with success. He also knew what it meant to have the need that the world associates with failure. These were his familiar
friends. He knew what it meant to feast sumptuously. He also was intimately acquainted with what it meant to be on the verge of starvation. We have already mentioned that he knew what it meant to be stoned, whipped, shipwrecked. imprisoned and hunted and hounded from pillar to post. But it is crystal clear that in every crisis contentment was his in for the taking.
This should surely speak to those Christians today who seem to say that real happiness and contentment can only come through success as the world defines it. It should speak to those who have let the world define their priorities and set their agenda. It should say volumes to those who are caught up in the worldly quest for more and more things. Those who are overwhelmed by our culture of materialism and acquisition. It is clear that true contentment can never lie in that direction. The father who answered his son's question about money and things surely had it right. His son asked, "Dad, how much is enough?" He replied, "It's always just a little more."
THE REAL SECRETS OF CONTENTMENT. Paul's life had ascended to heights of triumph and then descended to the depths of despair. In the process he had learned something that stood him in good stead in the most extreme of life's situations. He seems to infer that there are some special truths to be learned about contentment.
There are three truths that are involved. First, we must always focus upon the cross. When Paul tells us he can do all things
through Christ, he is alluding to the Christ of the cross. He has earlier said, "For me to live is Christ." The real foundation stone of contentment of the Christian is the glorious cross of Christ. When we are weak and weary in the way, we but need to remember the way of the cross leads home. The cross has made us free from the bonds of sin. He who the cross has made free, is free indeed. The cross has secured our eternal salvation and sonship.
Our eternal home in heaven is absolutely assured. (John 14:1-3,6) The cross and His blood has also assured us of daily strength and succor as we walk His way. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me." (Gal. 2:20)
Thus the really big things of time and eternity were completely taken care of when He cried out on the cross, "It is finished." With the world behind us and His cross before us, what else really matters? It does not matter how critical the circumstance or stressful the situation, when placed by the cross of Christ our concerns and discontent can fade into relative insignificance. Through the provision of the cross we can find grace for every
need.
When fair weather friends betray us, do we have to be dismayed and destroyed? When we are unfairly and falsely accused, do we have to defend ourselves? When we are misunderstood and maligned, do we have to make ourselves miserable by feeling frustration and failure? The cross says, "No!" As Paul said, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us - on the cross.
The next secret is letting go of the past. "Forgetting that which is behind.." (Phil. 3:13) Real contentment cannot come to those who insist upon focusing upon past failures and mistakes, real or imagined. Those who will not let go and let God forgive and heal their hurting hearts. Lasting contentment cannot come to those who consistently engage in the blame game. Those who will not forgive others or themselves are doomed to a life of unhappiness and discontent.
The old cliche' certainly holds a great deal of truth, "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are, it might have been." The terrible truth of these words is a constant terror to those who insist on struggling through life; anchored down by the baggage of unforgiveness. Even psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists agree upon the great healing real forgiveness can bring.
Paul gives us another important key when he says, "And my God will meet all your needs . . ." (Phil. 4:19) Notice he does not say God will meet our greeds or our wants. We sometimes forget God, like any loving and caring father, can give more than one response
when we pray in our discontent. He may clearly and emphatically say, "Yes." He could shout out a resounding, "No!" He can also gently whisper, "Wait awhile, my child." There are those times we must wait upon the Lord.
There is a certain truth in the old saying, "All (good) things come to those who wait." The truth of this matter was given by inspiration to the great prophet some three thousand
years ago: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint." (Isa. 40:31) The words of the song also say it well: "In His time, In His
time, He makes all things beautiful in His time." But it does sometimes take time for the weaver of the great tapestry of our life to bring it to pass. Only in His time do we find the real contentment for which we yearn.
Contentment can come when we allow the truth of the words of our Savior to become a key to our daily living. "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof." (Matt. 6:34) We can do nothing about the concerns and cares of tomorrow, until tomorrow. Nor can we change the sadness and sorrows of her dead sister yesterday. When we truly understand that this is the day that the Lord has made, then we can be glad and rejoice in it.
When Jesus in effect says, "Not to worry about tomorrow . ." He places His finger squarely upon the crux of the issue of discontent. He touches the sore spot at the center of much of our
frustrations and fears about the future. Among the fears, the faceless fear of the unknown holds the prime position.
The obvious terrible uncertainties of our day seem to have afflicted the masses with a sort of universal psychological trauma that is very real and very debilitating.
But of all the peoples of the world we Christian should be those with the obvious solution. Our very faith should give us peace
and contentment even in the days of insecurity that threaten to overwhelm the world. Through Christ Who strengthens us, our focus can be on the present. We can live moment by moment one day at a time; fully trusting in Him to supply all our needs for today. We can face each moment of each day with absolute assurance that He the day is in His hands. We can act with complete confidence because we know He holds the future as well as the past
and present. After all has He know already overcome all things for us? "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
But just how can all this be brought to bear in our lives? How does it work? I find great strength and solace in the example given us in the book of Hebrews. A record that seems to be recorded in order for us to be reassured that the God of the faithful ones of long ago is still alive and well and working on planet earth today. We are called to witness what He has done for His people in the most dire circumstances in ages past. If they were made overcomers through the victory of faith, even though they had not yet seen Christ in the flesh, what right do we, who have the record of His victory for us on the cross (see Heb. 12:1-3) to be fearful and discontent in our day?
"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and [of] Barak, and [of] Samson, and [of] Jephthae; [of] David also, and Samuel, and [of] the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped
the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out ofweakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:." (Heb. 11:32-39)
Some may wonder why we use the old hymn, "It Well With My Soul," so often. I must confess it speaks to my soul in times like these. As I have shared before, the writer, Horatio G. Spafford, penned the words of this hymn as he looked out over the harsh, cold, windswept waters of the North Atlantic. Waters, that had just a few weeks earlier swallowed up his four living vibrant, beautiful daughters. As I listen to the great and gripping words of this grand old hymn, I am again and again challenged about being content with my lot in life no matter what the circumstance.
"When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul."
".. for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content..."
