Content in EVERY Situation? - Philippians 4:12-13

 

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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13

Stress

Contentment is a blessing, and it’s in my control as a believer. Really? Yes it is. How do I know? Because Paul is implying here that believers should be content. If he is saying that I can be content, then I can.

How easy it is for me to not treat contentment with the full respect it deserves!

Sometimes I don’t think at all about how to nurture it nor protect it.

I know what it is to be rich. And I know what it is to scrape by, to wonder how the bills are ever going to get paid.

I can get so anxious about possible upcoming stresses. So I build up this steam of discontent all in my head, ruining the day.

Learning to be Content

How do I get this contentment?

I love the first few lines of the serenity prayer. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Contentment, serenity, is being able to accept that things are the way they are today.

No amount of my anxiety will change the future for the better. I am much better accepting those things I can not control.

Sometimes, there are days when it feels like my state of mind will always be a complete wreck. I’m never going to feel stable. I’m always going to live on the edge of frustration.

And yet He is right here. Assuring me I can be content.

Now, this contentment doesn’t happen immediately. This verse from Paul says, “I have learned the secret of being content.”

It’s a learned thing. It takes practice, maybe even willingness to be content. Sometimes we prefer to be grumpy. But this isn’t the life for a child of the king.
 

Through Him Who Gives Me Strength

That’s not the plan for a sanctified life. As a child of God, He gives me the power to be content.

I notice that this a potent contentment. See, the apostle Paul goes on to say that he can be content in any and every situation. Any and every. That’s a bold claim.

This is the power that all believers have. I think the reason that I have often not had it is that I didn’t understand God’s promises. And I often didn’t think that I was worthy to be a calm person.

But Jesus gives me this strength through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s God’s power.

One of the most quoted verses in the bible, Philippians 4:13, says, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Now, I bet it often gets applied to things it wasn’t meant to address. But it was one hundred percent meant to address my state of mind, my worry, my frustrations, my anxiety.

Paul wrote this verse about being able to “do all this,” in the context of being content. That’s the strength he’s referencing in this verse.

And Paul includes it here in the letter not to brag about how content he is but to show the readers that they can be content too.

In any and every situation. I’m not making this up. He really said it. These verses are holy scripture not a self-help book. This is truth for all of God’s own.

What if I am not content right at this moment? I can pray and know that He is right with me. I can look for and desire this contentment. I can catch myself when I start to give in to the temptation to worry or be anxious. And I can remind myself that I am His, right now.

Lord, teach me how to not give in to the temptations of worry, jealousy, and unrighteous anger. Show me how to recognize my impatience. Bring the scriptures to mind that combat these destructive thoughts. May I have the mind of Christ, today. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.