“I used to think the word ‘contentment’ could never apply to someone like me,” observes Liz. Suffering with a rare lung disease, she endures not only fatigue and breathlessness but is afflicted with repeated chest infections. As one often isolated within four walls, her body coping with the strain on her lungs, she used to ask herself, “How could I be contented?”
She found an answer in the writings of the apostle Paul, noting how he wrote his letter to the Philippians while locked away in prison, under threat of execution. In surroundings far more dire than her own, he could say, “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” (Philippians 4:12). But how could he find contentment while under threat of death? “I can do all this through him who gives me strength,” (v. 13) he responded.
Increasingly, as Liz placed her hope in God, trusting Him not only when she could catch her breath but also in the crushing pain, she found that her confidence in Him increased. Like Paul, she learned “to be content whatever the circumstances” (v. 11).
We might enjoy glowing good health or endure challenges like Liz’s. Whatever our situation, whether we are in need or have plenty, we too can find contentment in God as we lean on Christ who strengthens us.
By Amy Boucher Pye
REFLECT & PRAY
How easy or difficult do you think it is to find contentment during excruciating circumstances? How does the witness of believers such as Paul and Liz encourage you?
Loving God, You strengthen me through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me. Help me to lean on You today.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul’s letter to the Philippian believers is one of his Prison Epistles, so called because they were composed during his time of incarceration by the Roman authorities. It’s from his imprisonment that Paul discusses the “secret of being content” (4:12). There’s an interesting split between how Paul describes his circumstances and his response to them. He “knows” what his circumstances are: he’s experienced plenty, want, and hunger. But his response of contentment has been “learned” (v. 11 ). In other words, his contentment wasn’t a natural response to his difficult circumstances. He had to experience hardship and, by God’s strength, learn how to respond (v. 13).
J.R. Hudberg
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