God’s Gym
for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am Philippians 4:11
Learned – Are you content with your life? Be honest. Don’t pass this off as a spiritual requirement, as if to say, “Sure, there are things that bother me, but it’s OK. I’m mostly good with the way things are,” while underneath it all you know you have a list of what you would really like. Even Paul had to learn to be content. Contentment is an acquired discipline, not an instantaneous spiritual attribute. It is not like adoption into the Kingdom. Contentment takes effort! Maybe that’s why the author of Hebrews uses that very odd phrase, “let us strive to enter into that rest” (Hebrews 4:11). Biblical oxymorons.
The Greek verb here helps us see what Paul has in mind, and it tells us something about the discipline of contentment. It is manthano. It implies “an intellectual process that always has external effects.” The discipline of contentment is both mental and physical and you can be sure that God will use both aspects to teach us this virtue. I cannot be content in my mind only. But once I am content in my mind, my behavior will demonstrate a rest in God. On the other hand, God will engineer my circumstances so that I will be forced to deal with physical contentment issues, and thereby affect my thinking about contentment. The two are inseparable.
Don’t you think it is amazing that Paul says he had to learn this? We have a tendency to place Paul at the top of the spiritual ladder, just below Jesus. But here we get a glimpse into the Paul who is just like us. God had to re-arrange Paul’s circumstances to teach him contentment. I am quite sure that all of this took time, suffering, reflection and prayer, just like it does with us. God’s educational process is never just a mental exercise. Even in Deuteronomy 4:10 and Psalm 119:71, learning is both mental and physical. Contentment takes exercise!
Do you desire to be fit for the Lord? Does you heart long to please Him in your thoughts and your walk? Then remember the discipline of contentment, and expect God to bring you to the gym. He is your personal trainer in the transformation process. He will tell you how to do it, show you how to do it and then, put you through the paces of doing it yourself. That means God will provide the circumstances where you must practice contentment. You will get to feel the strain and the pain, and then proclaim, “Lord, thank you for teaching me this discipline. I am learning that You provide all I need.”
