The Secret of Contentment
Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone has a different idea of what that means, but at the end of the day we are all looking for satisfaction and pleasure in something.
Maybe you’re trying to find happiness in all the things the world has to offer - money, comfort, success. Or maybe you already know those things will fail you and true joy can only be found in Christ, but you still struggle with discontentment.
But what if there’s a secret to being truly content? And what if it’s hidden in one of the most frequently quoted verses in the Bible?
Even if you’ve never picked up a Bible, you’ve probably heard Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”
And most likely you heard it out of context. (Hate to break it to you, but I really don’t think this verse was meant to encourage you in the gym.)
Let’s look at the verse in the whole context of the letter, starting back in verse 10:
“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:10-13 NKJV
This is a Paul-style thank you card; he can’t even express his gratitude without making it into an object lesson. He’s grateful for their support, but he doesn’t really need it, because he can be content in any circumstance.
TBH, it sounds a little arrogant. “I have learned the secret of being content.” Ok, Paul, good for you. But I wonder, how often do we hold back from sharing things we’ve learned about life because we don’t want to come across like we have everything figured out?
Keep in mind, Paul is writing this from a Roman prison. If anyone has had an opportunity to figure out the secret of contentment in difficult circumstances, it’s him. When he says he knows how to be full and to be hungry, we naturally assume this is one of the hungry times. And yet a few verses later, he says, “indeed I have all and abound.”
I used a few Bible study tools to dig into what Paul is saying here and found a few interesting things. First, that word “content.” Here’s what one commentary says:
“The Greek literally expresses ‘independent of others, and having sufficiency in one’s self.’ But Christianity has raised the term above the haughty self-sufficiency of the heathen Stoic to the contentment of the Christian, whose sufficiency is not in self, but in God.”
Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. 1997. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Vol. 2. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
In other words, being content is really just being self-sufficient, not needing anything from anyone else. Being content as a Christian means that Christ is sufficient, and if you have him you have everything you need.
What’s been blowing my mind lately is that even though Jesus himself is more than enough, God still gives us so many good things. I’ve been doing a gratitude challenge that forces me to notice all the little gifts of beauty every day, which has only made me aware of how unnecessary and extra they are. If we know Jesus we’re already at 100%, but he just keeps giving more and more.
This is why Paul says he knows how to be full AND how to be hungry. Sometimes it’s actually easier to be content with Christ when he’s all we have. When we’re full of all his other gifts, we need constant reminders that he’s still all we need. And that’s why contentment is so hard to learn.
This is where the last verse comes in: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
I looked this verse up on the YouVersion app where I can compare a bunch of different versions, and the Amplified Version was really helpful. It’s a version that, instead of trying to pack all the meaning of the original Greek into one English sentence, just translates it simply and then adds bracketed text to help clarify the meaning. Here’s how it translates Philippians 4:13:
“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]”
Philippians 4:13 AMP
I’m not saying this verse is only about contentment and we can never apply it to other hard things. But it’s good to remember that it’s not about us. We can do anything he wants us to do.
Which is why it’s such good news that what he calls us to do is always for our good and his glory. And when we bring our will into alignment with his, that’s where we’ll find true contentment and joy.