Learning to Be Content

A few years ago I read a book that had a few suggestions on how to overcome fear and worry—the kinds of fears and worries we sometimes face in life. And the author outlined a three-step process that he suggested you put to use when confronting something that’s especially difficult.

First, he said, ask yourself what is the worst that can possibly happen? And then after that he said, secondly, to prepare to accept the worst if you have to. And then his third step in that process was to calmly proceed to improve upon the worst. There’s nowhere to go but up, as he said, once you’re down and out.

And of course that little formula is easier said than done. But think about how much more smooth-going our lives could be if we could just regularly put that into practice.

2 Corinthians 12; we’ll begin here today with an example taken from Paul’s life. All of us have fears and worries that we have to overcome and conquer. We have to accept responsibility for our actions, to move forward and to grow. And the Apostle Paul set a wonderful example of accepting where he was; accepting, in this case, the thorn in the flesh that he had, and not letting that slow him down in service to God.

2 Corinthians 12 and verse 7. He says, “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.” He repeats himself, if you notice there, at the start and at the end of that verse. Paul looked at this thorn in his flesh as God’s way of keeping him humble. And that’s not to say Paul still didn’t want to be healed from that, as we’ll see in the rest of this passage. But as Paul makes abundantly clear here, God allowed this thorn. God allowed this trial to continue, to persist in Paul’s life, to keep him from getting puffed up, or filled with vanity.

Verse 8: “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” So evidently Paul was anointed three times for this ailment, this thorn, whatever it might have been, the Scripture doesn’t explicitly say. But it was a sore trial and Paul traveled extensively, and it definitely bothered him and he agonized over this and repeatedly cried out to God, his Healer, for intervention, and God chose not to heal him then. This is God’s prerogative. He is our Healer, for sure, but Paul had to wait on God. And as difficult as this trial must have been physically, it did help him in other ways—to just put his focus more on the great God. Of course it was God’s will to heal, it always is, it just wasn’t at that time.

Verse 9: “And he said unto me ….” So here’s what God basically is communicating to Paul. “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities,” Paul said, “that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” And that’s oftentimes what happens when we’re weak in the flesh, is we lean ever more so on the strength of God, the strength of the Spirit.

That word sufficient there in Strong’s it means “to be possessed of unfailing strength; to be strong, to suffice, to be enough.” That’s what God makes available to us, whether we’re 12 or 30 or 80, He makes that unfailing strength available to us. And what a wonderful promise it is to know that in God we can really be strong, no matter what kind of physical body we might have.

Verse 10, it says, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” When you’re weak, are you strong like Paul was in the midst of this trial? Once he just accepted that he would have to live with this weakness, he moved forward and kept a positive outlook. He moved forward and actually viewed this trial as a wonderful opportunity to let God work things out; to let God open more doors. And this is the attitude that God wants us to take on when we have a setback or a difficulty or a trial even. God wants us to look upon our weakness as His opportunity—an opportunity for Him to show His strength. Satan, on the other hand, really wants us to focus in on the weaknesses, the infirmities, the sickness, the whatever-it-might-be. But learn to be thankful—even for the trials. Rejoice in your trials, and look to God.

Philippians chapter 4, also written by Apostle Paul. Philippians 4 and verse 8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” I mean you have to really set your mind on this direction. You have to think on these things. It’s not natural to think about these positive things—particularly when we get down, when we feel weak, when we feel we’re at a disadvantage, when we feel we’ve been persecuted.

[Verse 9] “Those things, which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do,” Paul says, “and the God of peace shall be with you.” God will be with us. Notice though, what he goes on and says.

Verse 10, I’ll read this from the Living Bible: “How grateful I am and how I praise the Lord that you are helping me again. I know you have always been anxious to send what you could, but for a while you didn’t have the chance.” He’s praising this congregation. We’ve given a forum before just talking about how just unusually positive this congregation was in supporting Paul and encouraging Paul; supporting him financially when they could, even though they were fairly poor as a congregation; and then more recent to the writing of this letter, they had sent Epaphroditus to Rome to help and to assist Paul.

Verse 11, it says, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Notice that this is something that Paul had to learn over the course of his life. He learned how to be content. I mean, who knows how much time might have passed between those three anointings as he cried out to God for deliverance, for healing. Who knows how much he might have been frustrated. Who knows how discouraged he might have gotten at having to live with these trials, at having to be reminded of this physical affliction every day when he boarded a ship and headed over to Ephesus or Corinth. Every day reminded of this. But over time, over the course of his life, he learned how to cope with this infirmity, with this disadvantage. More than cope, he learned how to rejoice, to be thankful for God’s strength, for God’s power. And he learned how to be more humble as well. He realized his weaknesses all the more; he realized his limitations all the more. And leaned on God’s strength to make up the difference.

Verse 12—this is in the Revised Standard Version—“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound ….” And how did he know how to do these things, students? To be abased and to abound? He says, “in any and all circumstances, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.” You see there’s a secret, as it says there in the Revised Standard Version, to facing any and all circumstances. And that secret, as he brings out here, is to learn how to be content when you are wanting and when you’re abounding—to learn how to be content, to learn how to be satisfied. We are, after all, God’s people. God is always our Father.

This is a quote from the correspondence course, produced by Mr. Armstrong. It says [Lesson 22], “God’s Spirit is full of joy. But human nature is so intent upon fulfilling its own selfish aims that it has no time for the expression of true joy!” You see that in this society today. People are so busy trying to get that they don’t have time to enjoy life or to express joy or to be positive.

He says, “It is trying to get, get, get—and it is miserable if it cannot obtain its desires. God’s Spirit brings peace—contentment and peace of mind. But human nature is always striving to obtain more for the self. It knows no rest, no relaxation. It is full of worry, fears and frustrations!” We see people like this all the time, don’t we? And sometimes we succumb to these fears and worries. To where we’re ever anxious, frustrated, impatient, unappreciative.

He says, “God’s Spirit is patient. It is willing to contentedly wait on God to perform His promises and pour out His blessing in His own good time.” Now that’s the key. We know God is a Father. We know God will bless us. God pours out those blessings in His own good time—when He knows it’s best for us. When He knows Paul, for instance, needs to be healed.

He says, “It is willing to suffer long,” God’s Spirit that is, “and endure reproach for Christ’s sake. It is supremely patient. Not so, human nature! It is in a great rush, an excited hurry—full of haste! It wants to get, and get now! Right now, it cries in anguish, thinking only of its own selfish needs and desires!” See we’ve got to be willing to wait on God, to trust God, if we’re ever to fully learn and appreciate the wonderful benefits and blessings that come from being content, being satisfied with what God has provided. Be goal oriented, I mean, work to increase, to improve, to grow, of course, but to be happy and satisfied and contented with what God provides. Because, after all, as the next verse goes on and says, we can do anything “through Christ” who strengthens us. If we’re leaning on Christ’s strength, the sky is the limit.

Look at Psalm 37. Get rid of fear, fear of failure, negative thinking, an inferiority complex, insecurities, whatever it might be. Commit your life to God and to God’s care, serve and obey God, and see how much happier we’ll be along the way. See how much more contented we’ll be. We see so much desire, so much want in society and so little happiness and joy as that quote from the correspondence lesson brings out. You look at young people today, I mean they, if there’s anything distinct about the younger generation, they want a lot of things. They have a lot of desires.

And now I know all of you do as well. I mean I was young once as well, and a young person wants to set things up for the future: the best job, the nice car, the wonderful marriage, all those things. But the thing of it is, like this psalm here brings out, God wants us to have the best. God wants us to be in a happy marriage and to have a happy, fruitful family.

Look at verse 4 here of Psalm 37. It says, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” See God wants to fulfill those desires, but He wants to see first if you’re delighting yourself in Him. If you’re excited about obeying Him, loving Him, serving Him. We’ve got to get the priorities straight here as this verse outlines. “Delight yourself [in God], and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” Most young people today want the desires, they have the desires, but there’s very little if any delighting in God, in the Lord.

Verse 5 continues, it says, “Commit your way unto the Eternal; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” He shall bring it to pass. There’s oftentimes a time element involved. We have to be willing to wait on God to be patient, I mean this is part of contentedness: patience, waiting faithfully.

Verse 7: “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way.” I mean, don’t fret over someone else by making a comparison to someone else. Rest in the Lord, it says. Rest in God and wait patiently for Him. “Fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.” You see someone who’s out there carrying on in a wicked way of living, seemingly receiving all of these gifts, blessings, the desires of his heart. So much desire, even so much prosperity in our land, and so little happiness and joy. So little time to stop and express joy.

Look at all that’s packed into verse 7 there. Rest in God. Wait patiently on God. Never, never fret. And don’t get caught up in comparing yourself with others. That’s quite a verse. It’s a good memory verse to keep in mind.

Verse 10, it says, “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, you shall diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. [11] But the meek,” it says, “shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” This is where true contentment leads: an abundance of peace.

Look at Galatians 6. “The meek shall inherit the earth,” as that psalm brings out, “and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Galatians 6 and verse 7; it says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.” Now there’s our part in this: delight yourselves in God, and then make sure we’re doing our part: sowing, planting seeds, using these “all important preparatory years,” as Mr. Armstrong says in the Missing Dimension in Sex. Using this critical block of time that most of you are in right now, to prepare for your future: your job, your marriage, your family, parenthood.

Verse 8, it says, “For he that sows to this flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap everlasting life. [9] And let us not be weary in well doing:” verse 9 says, “for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Don’t get tired of doing good, of performing good works, of obeying God’s laws. As another translation says, if you throw your heart into it, the ultimate harvest is assured. The delights, the desires will be fulfilled, if we put our faith and trust in God. James said, “Let patience work its perfect work.” Let it work. Let it marinate. Let it grow.

1 Timothy 6; we’ll just conclude over here. Let patience work. There’s a verse also in Hebrews where Paul said to be content with such things as you have. Put God first in your life; be content with what you have. And look, God wants to prosper us. I’m not up here suggesting that, you know, He wants all of us to live in poverty and to be happy with it. He wants us to prosper, to produce. I’ve given other forums making that basic point. But He certainly doesn’t want us out there trying to keep up with the Joneses, trying to compete with our neighbor. Trying to make just a little bit more money; trying to get just a little bit more; always wanting to get, get, get, and never stopping to express joy and appreciation for what God gives. Paul, as I said, I mean he had to learn to be content. And so do we.

1 Timothy 6 verse 5, it says, “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness; from such withdraw yourself.” There’s all kinds of people in this society today that just suppose that the more you gain, the more righteous you are, the more popular you are, the more things you have, the better you must be. The more money and wealth you have, the more important your opinion must be—you must really be educated and smart. And oftentimes you see the ones with the most, saying the most ignorant things. Gain is not godliness—not material gain. If we’re just looking to selfishly apply God’s laws: Well, if I do this, if I pay my tithes, if I attend Church services, if I do this, God better give me this. God better give me that. God doesn’t’ intend for us to submit to His laws in a selfish way. I mean if we do, we’re violating the principle of God’s law, which is that of giving and serving. Unselfish outflowing concern for others, as Mr. Armstrong defined it.

Verse 6, it says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Now here is gain, great gain, in God’s sight: living God’s way of life—living like God and being content with that; being happy with that. That’s the greatest kind of life you could have—a life with God in it. “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

The Greek word there for contentment means “a perfect condition of life, in which no aid or support is needed; a sufficiency of the necessities of life.” See, happy with what God provides. Thankful for what God provides.

Verse 7, it says, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” You know, it’s not he who has the most things in the end wins. Paul says we didn’t bring anything in. We all started as just little babies, didn’t we—little crying, naked babies. And we’re going to go out with nothing to go with us. Nothing physical. Nothing material. But, of course, spiritually, it’s different. In the spiritual realm, I mean, what we go out with matters. It has a direct bearing on what we do in the next life. Which is why we shouldn’t set our hearts in this life on physical things because those things, just like our physical bodies, will not last. They will not continue. The spiritual realm, on the other hand, is incorruptible and eternal. Which is why Jesus said not to set our hearts on earthly things, but to rather invest in heavenly treasures.