Learning defines much of our lives. We mark educational moments — graduations from kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school, college, and beyond — with big parties, replete with balloons, cards, cakes, hearty handshakes, and celebratory “Congratulations!” Our jobs frequently require ongoing education and further certifications. At church we might attend Sunday school classes. If God blesses us with children we quickly find ourselves in a whole new kind of education, deconstructing what we think we know and replacing it with prayer and humility. 

We are accustomed to thinking of education as a “process”. Yet when it comes to personal change, we sometimes expect our transformation to be much more sudden. Like an email attachment where we click, apply and enjoy. But Christian transformation is more like raising kids or attaining an advanced degree. It’s hard and takes time — in fact, it takes a lifetime.

If you are looking to live a contented life, there are two fundamental trusts you must understand.

Truth # 1- Contentment is Learned

One of the hardest schools to graduate from is the School of Contentment. Charles Spurgeon said, “This surely is the highest degree in humanities to which a man can possibly attain, to have learned in whatsoever state he is, to be content” (Charles Spurgeon, “Contentment,” Sermon no. 320 in Spurgeon’s Sermons: New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 6). Spurgeon probably had an advanced degree in this area. But if you’re anything like me, you’re still finger-painting in the kindergarten of contentment.

Regardless of where you are, there is hope. 

When Paul outlines how to become content, he doesn’t say, “God downloaded the spiritual gift of contentment into my heart. Yeah, I think it happened just as I was leaving the 3rd heaven!” Nope. Writing from a prison cell, Paul says, “for I have learned in whatever situation I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

God put Paul through many classes. He brought Paul low and allowed him to abound. God made Paul face hunger and need. As a result, Paul learned he could be content in any situation (Philippians 4:11–12). His identity was not connected to his circumstances. 

Gosh, I wish this came differently. Wouldn’t it be great to have contentment in pill you could grab at the self-checkout? Not in this life. It must be learned. This isn’t the kind of secret we can open a fortune cookie to discover. Contentment is something acquired when faith is applied over time in those seasons where we are not living the life we desire.

Truth # 2 – Contentment Unleashes Happiness

I once read this about Jonathan Edwards: “He appeared like a Man of God, whose happiness was out of the reach of his enemies” (George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards, 361). I think that means Edwards learned contentment. His peace wasn’t dependent upon how he was treated by others. Even when others sinned against him, he was peaceful and satisfied with God’s will. 

Now, we know Jonathan Edwards was ambitious. I mean, this was a guy who was writing theological treatises at the age of seventeen. But it still seems like he, as bright and gifted as he was, “learned to be content.”

Learning to live contentedly when we don’t have what we desire is the pathway towards happiness. Because our flourishing is not linked to circumstances; it’s connected to a satisfied dream. But remember, this is more like a school. We must prepare for a learning process that we repeat before the lessons really sink in and truly saturate our souls.

Nobody instinctively wants the path of learning marked out in the School of Contentment. It demands that we abandon the attempt to run our own lives and learn to accept our circumstances as hand-delivered from our heavenly Father. It requires us to lay down our own demands, receive the life handed down from on high, and work diligently to learn the lesson. 

Sometimes the assignment includes pleasant circumstances; sometimes a prison cell. I hope that whatever the case may be, we will learn to say with Paul, “In whatever circumstance I am, I can be content.”

Today’s Question 

Are there any seasons, roles or assignments that God has given you recently which have been difficult to complete? What lesson of contentment do you think God is teaching you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for the example of the apostle Paul who could be content when facing hunger or health, prison or plenty. I pray that you would help me to learn this lesson so that I too can say, “I’ve learned the secret of contentment.” In Jesus’s name, amen.

Photo by kerry rawlinson on Unsplash