I Have Learned to Be Content

Paul makes a remarkable claim, and an instructive one: "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." Two things stand out. First, contentment is possible "in whatever state", Paul wrote this from prison, having known both plenty and deep need, and he had found a contentment that did not depend on his circumstances. Second, and crucially, contentment is something he had to learn. It did not come to him naturally or automatically; it was acquired, over time, through experience and discipline. Contentment is not a temperament some are born with; it is a skill the believer learns.

This is encouraging for all of us who struggle to be content. If contentment were a personality trait, those who lack it would be stuck. But Paul says it is learned, which means it can be learned by us too. And how is it learned? Largely in the school of varied circumstances: in seasons of need, we learn that God is faithful; in seasons of plenty, we learn not to trust in the gift over the Giver. Each state, lived with God, teaches contentment to the willing heart. The discontent we feel is not a life sentence; it is a lesson we are still in the middle of learning.

Be a willing student of contentment today. Whatever your present state, ask God to teach you the contentment that Paul learned, and trust that it can be learned.