Achieving Contentment

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13

Lehman Strauss wrote:
In the early days of my Christian experience, I could not see how some Christians I knew could be content with so little of this world’s goods. I sincerely trust that I am learning the secret. From what I see about me, I do not hesitate to say that it is a secret many Christians have yet to learn. Paul needed to learn it. He said, “I have learned....” The lessen of contentment was one he learned by degrees, in varying circumstances. As a young unbelieving Jew, he had no want insofar as this world’s possessions are concerned. He did not always know the divine provision of satisfaction. But after he was saved he came to learn it, not in the academic classroom but as the result of a lengthy experience of trials and discipline.

“I have learned” is the language of a good student. Have you learned to be satisfied with your place and position and possessions in this life?