Contentment in Christ

Written by Josh Field

Philippians 4:10-14

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me. You were, in fact, concerned about me but lacked the opportunity to show it.I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.Still, you did well by partnering with me in my hardship.

Recently I’ve been thinking about contentment. How can I be content? How can we be content even through life’s ups and downs?

I’ve been so encouraged to read that even Paul had to learn contentment (verse 11). It didn’t come to him as part of the package when he met Christ. And there’s an implication that he had to keep learning, and keep applying this in each circumstance that he found himself in — it was not a once-learned secret. This means that whatever we are facing, there is an opportunity to learn contentment in Christ.

And thankfully Paul doesn’t leave us guessing how we find contentment. It isn’t a mystery that we’ll never know. Paul tells us what the secret is. In Philippians 1:13 he writes, “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”. So, for Paul, the answer to contentment was Christ. And for us, the answer is Christ — to lean into Him more and all that He has done for us.

We thank God for the Lord Jesus, the source of our contentment and peace. We ask for God’s help to learn contentment and to accept that God gives us what we need for today, and not be yearning for something else. We pray that this will be a day of joy for those in our care and that they will know contentment in Christ and a sense of God being present with them.