The Secret of Contentment

Paul wrote, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" (Php 4:11). Wow, imagine that! Imagine being content in whatever circumstances you find yourself. It's really hard sometimes to imagine because contentment is so hard to find and harder to maintain. What's the secret? When Paul wrote that, he listed his secret. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Php 4:13), an oft misunderstood text that is not saying, "God can make me a superman to do whatever I want" but a claim that contentment in all circumstances is acquired "through Him who strengthens me." Paul wasn't alone. Asaph had something to say about it. "Asaph?" Yes, Asaph was King David's go-to Levite for ministers before the ark of the LORD (1 Chr 16:3-7). Asaph wrote a dozen psalms (Psa 50 and 73-83) that are part of Scripture in our book of Psalms. In Psalm 73 Asaph offers some insights into the question of contentment.

Asaph begins by telling about a particular problem he had. Let's call it "covetousness." He really envied the wicked (Psa 73:2-15). I mean, look at them. They have all they want. They don't seem to pay for their evils. They mock and oppress and no one stops them. They seem to say, "God doesn't know a thing!" Asaph looks at them and concludes, "Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence" (Psa 73:13). He was on the verge of tossing his faith (Psa 73:2) right up until "I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end" (Psa 73:17). Asaph turned from covetous to contented. It started when he realized that crime doesn't pay, so to speak -- when he saw that they don't get away with everything and it will end badly for the wicked -- but where he really turned was when he recognized that the Lord was always with him (Psa 73:23). That's when Asaph breaks free. "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth" (Psa 73:25). He began with "But as for me" by contrasting the blessings of God for pure in heart (Psa 73:1-2) with his doubts and ends with "But as for me" by contrasting the wicked and their consequences (Psa 73:26-27) with "the nearness of God" (Psa 73:28).

That's it. No "stuff." No life improvements. No "better off." Things didn't turn for him. Asaph realized the secret to contentment. It's not in sufficient things, people, or circumstances; it's in a sufficient God. It's not in more, but in the "enough" of God's presence. God, by Himself, is all that is needed. Besides Him, there is nothing more to be desired. When we are discontented, it is because we lack confidence in Him. When we lack confidence in Him we covet, believing that we deserve things He hasn't supplied. Let's call that "sin." With Him there is ultimate contentment. He is the secret to contentment.