How To Be Content - Even In Tough Times

Introduction

Philippians 4:11-13; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Whatever your age, or your circumstances, or your ambitions in life — there is one goal, one desire, that I venture to say every last one of us has in common, and that is, we all aspire to be content—and that’s what I want to speak about tonight: not just about how to be content, but how to be content even in the toughest of times.

I.  The POSSIBILITY of Contentment

Some may feel that because of your particular circumstances, it simply is not possible for you to be content. But, to the contrary, the Word of God makes it clear that contentment is possible even in the most extreme situations — and we see that demonstrated in the experience of the apostle Paul. Let’s look at what he said in the fourth chapter of Philippians.

But first, before we deal with what he said about contentment, let’s look at verse 10: “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.”

At the time he wrote this letter, Paul was in prison, probably in Rome. Although he had not asked them for help, Paul’s friends in the church at Philippi wanted to do whatever they could to make life more tolerable for him during his confinement, so they sent him some supplies. We’re not told what they sent, but perhaps some food items and maybe some warmer clothing.

They had ministered to Paul in the past. In verse 16 he says, “For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.” Having somehow been hindered for a while, they now were once again ministering to his needs, and Paul was expressing his appreciation for their kindness and thoughtfulness. 

In all of his epistles, we see Paul expressing his gratitude whenever anyone helped him in any way. What a great example for you and me.

One of the most important things you and I can do in order to honor God and be a good witness to the people around us, is to be careful to thank those who have helped us in some way—whether they provided some material gift, or encouraged us when we were down, or remembered us on some special occasion, or gave us some advice that helped us in our decision making—or helped us in some other way. But whenever someone helps us in any way, we need to say “thank you.”

Not remembering or taking time to say “thanks” to those who have helped us is a sorry testimony, and not only disappoints and deprives others but dishonors God. Someone has said, “The machinery of this old world would run a lot more smoothly if the oil of appreciation were applied more often.” I

So, I challenge you, and I challenge myself: let’s do some refection and ask ourselves the question: Have I failed to say “thank you” recently to someone who deserves my gratitude? If so, let’s determine to remedy that situation.

Now, back to the main theme of this message; look at Paul’s great statement in verses 11-13:

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

What a remarkable statement from this rugged soldier of the cross. Paul was converted and called to the ministry when he was about 30 years old. Now, as he writes this letter from prison he is about 60 — which in that culture was “old.” He says that Christ has enabled him to be content in whatever situation he has faced at any given time — and in the 30 years since his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul had undergone trials and tribulations that most of us never come anywhere close to facing—and all because of his bold, uncompromising stand for Jesus Christ.

When we look at his list of adversities in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, and at the record of other rough experiences in the book of Acts and in the epistles, it is mind-boggling. He was severely beaten eight times; he lived 24/7 under the awareness that a group of fanatics had vowed to kill him; to put it in modern-day terms, there was a “contract” on his life, and he never knew when one or more of those wanting to murder him might suddenly step out of the shadows and attack him; once he was stoned to the point of unconsciousness and left for dead; he was run out of town; he was the target of mob violence, barely escaping with his life; three times he was shipwrecked; for an entire day and night he was adrift in the ocean, no doubt struggling to stay afloat and keep from drowning; he bore insults and false accusations and frequent rejection; at times he went without adequate food, water, clothing, or shelter—and besides all that, we read in 2 Corinthians 12 about some painful physical affliction that he called his “thorn in the flesh.”

The Greek word for “thorn” refers to a huge pointed stake for impaling victims. Paul is using the word as a metaphor to say that his suffering was so excruciating that it was like an ongoing crucifixion.

He refers to it as “the messenger of Satan.” Just as God allowed Satan to afflict Job for an ultimately good reason, in like manner God had allowed Satan to afflict Paul.i Paul said that Satan used that thorn to “buffet” [KJV] him. That Greek word for “buffet” means “to beat, to strike great blows with the fist,” which indicates that the pain was brutal and severe.

Many people can identify with Paul at that point, at least in principle — such as people who were in near-fatal accidents and have sustained horrible injuries both internal and external, or people afflicted with some debilitating disease, such as cancer, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or multiple sclerosis — or some other cause. I have known, and still know, people who live with pain on a daily basis -- in some cases, pain that is extreme and at times almost unbearable.

Many other folks live every day with a different kind of pain: the pain of a crushed spirit, or a broken heart--in some cases because of the tragic, untimely death of a love one; or because of a relationship being torn asunder, or some cherished dream being dashed to bits; or because of being betrayed by someone they trusted; or because of seeing someone they love throwing their life away, making foolish, God-dishonoring, destructive choices--and the list could go on. Pain and suffering can be mental and emotional, as well as physical.

Perhaps some under the sound of my voice tonight are hurting terribly--maybe physically, or maybe emotionally, or even both ways. You may be bearing some burden that is so deeply personal or so painful and complex that you couldn’t express it in words if you tried. But don’t forget that the all-knowing God of the universe knows exactly what you’re going through; and not only does he know, he cares; he loves you, and he wants you to “hang in there,” because- - on the authority of his Word -- help is available.7

So, back to Paul’s great statement; in spite of being battered and bruised and bloodied in the battles of life, Paul said, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

At this point let’s think about what he meant by the term “content.” When Paul speaks of “contentment,” or when that term is found elsewhere in the Bible, what does it mean?

First, let’s realize what it does not mean. It does not mean everything always going your way; it doesn’t mean never being hurt, never being brought to tears, or never experiencing loss; it does not mean feeling upbeat all of the time.

Contentment is not simply an emotion; it is not a shallow, pollyanna approach to life that glosses over life’s harsh realities — but neither is it the absence of emotion. It is not stoicism, or denial of feeling, nor is it hopeless fatalism.

Emotion is involved, to be sure — but contentment is not primarily emotion; it is not as much of a feeling as it is a knowing — it is a deep seated, God implanted sense of wellbeing which is not dependent upon the ebb and flow of outward circumstances, but rather is based on our knowing that somehow or other God is going to sustain us, because of certain rock-solid truths set forth in the Word of God — truths to which we can cling regardless of the storms raging around us.

II.  The PATH to Contentment

So, how does a person come to have that kind of contentment, even in the midst of the toughest times? We see the answer to that question as we look at how Paul came to experience contentment in the midst of his most excruciating trials and tribulations.

A.  The first and most obvious step on the path to contentment is to be right with God — to be saved, and to be living in daily fellowship with him.  As we’ve already noted, Paul said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

On the road to Damascus Paul repented of his sins and in faith surrendered his life to Christ, and from moment on Christ had been the center of his life. That’s the only foundation on which a life of contentment can be built.

But as powerfully important as that is, it is not the whole of the matter. Had Paul not been saved, contentment would not have been possible — but once he was saved, then other factors were involved in his reaching the point where he could say that he was content.

B.  Notice that he said, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

So there is a learning process for a Christian in order to have that deep-down sustaining contentment like Paul had — and sadly, not all Christians have learned as Paul did. There are Christians — genuinely born again children of God — who are not content, but in fact are miserable, and in some cases also make the people around them miserable — because they haven’t learned how to be content.

Well, what are the lessons to be learned in order to be content? How did Paul learn to be content in spite of his afflictions and suffering — particularly in light of having continually to bear that horrific “thorn in the flesh?”— and how can you and I learn to be content? He explains the essentials for learning contentment in this familiar passage,  2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV):

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

1.  First, he acknowledged that God had a purpose in allowing his thorn in the flesh. In fact, God allowed Paul to know exactly what that purpose was in his case: to keep him from becoming conceited because of the marvelous revelations he had been privileged to experience.

That is not to suggest that God will always make known to us the purpose for which he allows afflictions in our lives. He might or he might not. But the thing for you and to remember is that God does always have a purpose. He doesn’t always initiate every difficulty that we experience — but everything that happens to us does have to pass through the filter of God’s permissive will — and he always has a wise, loving purpose for whatever he allows. Keeping that in mind is one means of learning to be content. Romans 8:28 echoes that same truth: “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.”

2.  Next, a profoundly important part of Paul’s learning process was prayer. God didn’t answer his prayer in the way he had hoped, and he doesn’t always answer your prayers or mine in the way we hope or expect, but whenever we pray — whatever the specific answer that God gives — he works in our lives. Paul says that “three times he pleaded” — and from what we know of Paul from reading about him throughout Acts and the epistles, each of those three times was probably a prolonged time of agonizing and weeping — he uses the term “plead,” which signifies intensity and crying out. It calls to mind the statement in James 5:16: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Probably the reason that many of us who are Christians aren’t really content is that we don’t pay the price in prayer. The Lord Jesus, when he walked the earth in the form of a man, prayed earnestly, and often, and sometimes at great length. In fact, before he chose his twelve apostles, Luke 6:12 says “that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer.”

Sometimes the Lord would have us pray at great length, at other times not as long, but we’re to pray until the Holy Spirit leads us to stop praying for that particular session. But sadly, many times we fail to experience contentment because we aren’t willing to pay the price in prayer.

3.  There was a third step in Paul’s learning to be content. When God said “no” to his plea for the thorn to be removed, Paul didn’t become bitter, he didn’t rebel against God, he didn’t sulk, he didn’t say, “Well, that’s it, I’m through!” Rather, he accepted God’s “no” answer. He might have hoped that God would, at some future time, give him relief from that “thorn,” but at least for now — and maybe for the rest of his life — he faced the reality that bearing that “thorn” was his lot in life, and he would live with it. So, that was the third step in his learning to be content — acceptance.

4.  The fourth factor in his learning to be content —c losely intertwined with the first three factors — was this: God helped him to understand that divine strength is poured into our lives when we humbly acknowledge our weaknesses and admit our desperate need for God’s help, and furthermore that the amount of that divine strength will always be exactly right for the situation at hand. God’s strength will never be in short supply, or exhausted. God said it like this: “My grace is sufficient for thee.”

That calls to mind the great promise in Deuteronomy 33:25: “as thy days, so shall thy strength be” — or as the NIV translates it: “your strength will equal your days.” To put it differently, God was saying to Paul, and to all of us, “I will never allow you to experience overload.” You and I probably feel, at times, that we are experiencing overload—but if we pray as we should, and meet the other conditions that come to light in Paul’s testimony, overload simply will not happen;  God won’t let it happen.

So, to summarize: Paul was saying, in effect, “Whatever happens to me, I have come to terms with the fact that “it is what it is,” but that Jesus is with me and is going to give me the strength I need to deal with it, m so I’ll simply accept the hand that I have been dealt and move forward without griping or complaining and without letting these outward circumstances defeat me, knowing that the Lord Jesus will see me through one way or the other.” That is how he found contentment — and it’s also the way you and I can learn to be content, whatever our circumstances at any given time.

A preacher told about being on a flight when they encountered a storm — one of those sudden storms that the weather forecasters had not seen coming, so they had no warning. Rain and hail were battering the fuselage. Lightning was flashing, and the strong wind caused the plane to lurch from time to time. Passengers were wide-eyed and fearful for their lives and clutching the armrests tightly. Family members were embracing each other, people were showing all kinds of signs of anxiety.

Yet, to that preacher’s astonishment, there was one little girl, seated by herself, seat belt fastened, of course, like everyone else, but just calmly reading a book, apparently utterly unperturbed by all of the chaos. He made his way to her seat and said, “Young lady, I am amazed; everyone else on this flight is upset and fearful, yet you sit here as cool and calm as can be; how are you able to do do that? She said, “My daddy is the pilot of this plane, and I know he’s going to get us safely through the storm.”

That’s a pretty good illustration of what contentment is for a Christian. We’re not exempted from the storms of life — outward storms or inner storms — but we know who the Pilot of this universe is, and we know that one way or the other he is going to see us through.

But the important thing is to be sure that you are trustfully and obediently anchored to him—that you have repented of your sins and surrendered to him in faith as your Lord and Savior, and are living in daily fellowship with him. Then as you follow the steps that we see in Paul’s testimony, you can learn to be content regardless of how strongly the storm winds blow, regardless of how intense the pain, and regardless of how dark your night of suffering or disappointment.