Happy or Content?

How content are you? And I don't mean happy. Happy is something different. Happiness is a good thing, but it's a very fleeting thing.  I may be very happy, and then get an email or phone call that changes my dynamic and attitude for the rest of the day. Not so with contentment.  Contentment is broader, more even keel if you will.  Contentment is about life satisfaction, and inner-peace.  Yes, there is certainly an element of happiness that comes into play, but only as a symptom of the already established contentment.

So, how content are you?  I have definitely had to battle to find contentment in my own life.  I have so many things to be thankful for: a wonderful wife, a son, my health, my home, my job, the list could go on.  Why then do I, and I believe many people, struggle to maintain true contentment in our life?  Paul talked about this very idea in Philippians 4.  In verses 10-19 he alludes to the problem and gives the solution.

10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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.

13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.

15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;

16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.

17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.

18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

While making his main point, Paul gives a short list of his credentials. Paul says he has learned the secret of being content all the time.  For him, this included times when he was full or starving, having what he wants or dealing with not having what he wants. From other reading we know Paul also endured some other serious struggles.  Paul was imprisoned multiple times, he was beaten multiple times and ultimately martyred for his faith in Christ.

There is no doubt we all suffer to some extent in this life. But most of us will never know suffering like Paul. So, I suppose, if someone has gone through all that Paul has gone through and still claims to have "learned the secret to being content in any situation," we ought to be quiet and listen to his wisdom. 

Paul's answer for this mindset of contentment is found in the very next verse. Philippians 4:13.  This verse has become a bit of a cliche within Christian circles. "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."  I have often looked to this verse as a way of inspiring myself not to give up, to trust in God to get me through difficult times.  There's nothing wrong with that, except it doesn't fully encompass what Paul was trying to get across when he said it.

Paul isn't really saying "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Rather, he is literally saying "I can do everything within God's will for me through him who gives me strength." This is kind of the rub. There are all sorts of things we could involve ourselves with that God is not supportive of.  So, here, the key is submission.  When our will is fully aligned with the will of God, only then can we say "I can do everything (with no qualifier) through him who gives me strength."

So, how fully submitted are you to the will of God?  I find this particularly difficult. This is not because I want to be running around smashing mailboxes and paint balling houses. Rather, it's because I have my own ideas concerning the methods, timing and location for my service to God.  I think many of us fall into this category.  What we want seems good to us, and in line with God, and yet for some reason God isn't "making it happen."  It's in these times that the fullness of my submission to God is tested. Being willing to say - and mean - "What I want may never happen, and I accept that" - is a true test of one's submission to God.  It doesn't mean you give up on your dreams, but it does mean that you acknowledge God as the ultimate dream-maker.

So here we are. IF we are willing to FULLY submit ourselves to God's will (hear leadership and guidance), THEN we will be able to "do everything through him who gives [us] strength."  It is ONLY within this framework that we will ultimately be able to find true contentment.  The contentment that is not based upon how happy I am or how good I feel.  But rather, it is based on my knowledge that I am submitted to, and aligned with, my God and my Savior.  No matter what this world throws at me, I have an eternal home waiting for me on the other side. In this there is peace.  In this there is hope.  In this we can have contentment.