Grace Gives Us Power

“I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13.

The “all things” referred to here by Paul is being content in all conditions, whether in abundance or in adversity.  Christians will readily acknowledge their need of God’s grace to be cheerful and content in affliction.  But we must realize that divine aid is also necessary in abundance; in fact it is equally necessary in every condition a Christian will face in life.  Prosperity presents us with different temptations than suffering does, but we are equally in need of grace in both.  Paul says that this is something that must be learned.  Every Christian needs God’s help to handle abundance in a righteous way, just as much as His grace is needed in suffering.  The wonder of the Christian religion is that God’s grace is available to us and  is sufficient to meet our every need!  What a fabulous blessing it is, in all the uncertainties of the world, to have a certain rule to go by, which carries us above the every uncertainty!  Only Christians have this.  A Christian is not at the mercy of the world; our contentment is not dependent on anything in the world.

God’s Glorious Power in the Heart

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).  I was reviewing an entry I made about a month ago on this verse.  I find that in the pressures of life, I need to be reminded regularly of the great truth expressed in it.  So I will remind you as well.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives includes “peace” of heart and mind (Galatians 5:23).  This great quality of peace reveals itself in our lives as contentment.  To be satisfied at heart, regardless of circumstances, is a work only the Holy Spirit can produce.  It expresses God’s glorious power in the heart of a strong and growing believer.  What could be more wonderful than to consistently experience God-given contentment?  I want this to be a reality in my heart more and more, as I am sure you do.  It must be learned, and it will only be learned as the Christian responds to adversity as the Bible teaches, by God’s grace.  To be discontented and discouraged is most contrary to the high calling of the Christian.  We glorify God when we proclaim to the world by our lives that He is sufficient to meet our every need, in every condition.  The contented Christian is a marvel to the world.    

Contentment and Sincerity

We cannot move on from Philippians 4:11  without mentioning the impact godly contentment has on our sincerity.  In the previous verse, Philippians 4:10, Paul thanks the Philippian Christians for the gifts they had sent to meet his material needs.  The apostle then assures them his motivation in saying this was not a monetary one, “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content.”   Paul had no hidden agenda, he just wanted to sincerely thank them for being so generous.  He was not hinting that he needed more financial support from them; he was not trying to manipulate them into giving more.  That is so common today!  All kinds of so-called evangelists and preachers promise believers an outpouring of blessing on their lives if they will just give to their ministries.  They manipulate people with guilt in the most shameless ways.  God abominates this kind of hypocrisy, and so does the world.  People who are not content with what they have cannot be trusted.  They consider other people only as means to get what they want.  To genuinely love others, we must be content with God’s provision for our needs. 

Learning to be Content

“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11).  “I have learned”, wrote Paul.  That is very significant.  We do not come by this naturally, it must be learned.  But it cannot be learned in any school or university.  Even Harvard and Cambridge are powerless to impart this to the students that are privileged to attend them.  And the most brilliant students, even those with the intellectual capacity of a genius, have no advantage in learning contentment.  How then did Paul learn this?  The apostle’s words here express the glorious power of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a mature Christian.  I cannot think of anything more important or desirable to learn.  Imagine how the possession of this quality would impact every facet of your daily life!  The Puritan Richard Sibbes wrote with great insight on this verse, “It is not the learning of education, but of holiness.  All the degrees in the world cannot teach it.  Paul did not learn it at Gamaliel’s feet, but from Christ, and through much affliction.  Nature never teaches it.  It is learned with many stripes in the school of Christ.”  Which may be the reason so few Christians are great scholars of this truth.  But what must not be missed here is that God’s grace can carry us through all conditions with our trust and joy in Him intact and functioning.  The Christian filled with grace will not be overly dejected in difficulties, nor unguardedly exuberant in prosperity.  Neither abundance nor lack changes the basic fact that God is the portion, the source of all good, for the trusting believer.    

Give Us Our Daily Bread

Concerning God’s command that believers should ask Him for all that they need, Thomas Manton said, “Contentment is also one of God’s blessings we should ask for when we pray.  Bread provides our need, but our enjoyment of it is also his blessing.  Happiness does not lie in abundance, but in the suitableness of our mind to our estate (Luke 12:15).  There is a twofold war in man: the war between a man and his conscience which breeds trouble of mind, and a war between his affections and his condition which breeds murmuring and envious grumbling.  So, pray for contentment also when you pray, ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’”  Manton says so much in these few sentences.  This brilliant analysis will abundantly repay careful study.  Jesus said that happiness will not be found in possessing an abundance of earthly blessings.  Happiness is the result of our desires being in harmony with what our Lord has seen fit to give us.  Paul wrote that we should be content with food and clothing (1 Timothy 6:8).  If we are not content with these things, our hearts will be dominated by greed and envy.  Just as God is the only one who can meet our daily needs, even so He is the only one who can enable us to be content with what He provides.  

A Quiet Heart

There is a world of difference between stoically enduring affliction by the strength of our own will and being content in sufferings by the grace of God.  It is not enough merely to not murmur in affliction, which is possible by those of a certain personality.  The Christian must seek to glorify God in suffering (1 Peter 4:16).  It is the sincere desire to honor God's name in suffering that brings true quietness of heart.  This is one great mark of the marvelous contentment that is possible only by God's grace.     

Subtracting Desires

Paul tell us that he had learned the secret of being content with a little or with a lot (Philippians 4:11-12).  Those who live for the things of this world know no way to be contented but by adding more possessions to what they already have.  A heart that is ruled by earthly desires seeks contentment in satisfying those desires.  In contrast, the Christian finds contentment, not by adding to what he has, but by subtracting from his desires.  A believer can learn to be content with few earthly possessions and in any circumstances.  Contentment does not come by adding to what you want, but by subtracting from your desires.  Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment