Contentment

I have met many discontented people in my life. Always on the move. Forever arranging and rearranging their lives. Never satisfied with themselves or their circumstances. The underlying promise from which most of their decisions flow is that personal contentment is inextricably linked to one’s circumstances. In other words, a person’s surroundings – job, spouse, income, residence – determine peace of mind and satisfaction. Consequently, when they become dissatisfied with life, they begin changing things. They quit their job. They sell their house. They trade their car. Or in some cases, they look for a new marriage partner. Soon, however, that same feeling begins gnawing at them again. And off they go, making more changes.

Now if you will think about it, nobody needed a change of scenery more than the apostle Paul. His life seemed to go from bad to worse, [yet] he is still able to say, “For this reason I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 NCV).

. . . Paul’s “secret,” as he referred to it in Phillippians, was his relationship with Christ. He discovered that true and lasting contentment is found not in things, but in a Person. He could be content in the most adverse circumstances because his aim in life was to be pleasing to the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:9). Knowing that he was where his Lord wanted him to be was enough. He did not need material props to bring him satisfaction.

You may say, “Well, that sounds mighty spiritual, but how realistic is it to think that we can find contentment outside the realm of our circumstances?” I believe it is extremely realistic. And I don’t believe this is a principle that applies to some elite group of believers. This kind of contentment is for all Christians . . . .

For Paul, learning to be content in every circumstance was a necessity. He would not have survived if this principle did not work. Yet . . . Paul did more than simply survive; he “reigned” in life through Christ (see Romans 5:17). Contentment is available to all of us, regardless of our circumstances, if we will only commit our lives to the purposes and plan of God.

Source: How to Handle Adversity by Charles Stanley as quoted in The Answer: To Happiness, Health, and Fulfillment in Life (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993), p. 749.