The Secret Is This

I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Do you want to know the secret to a life of contentment?

Here’s a hint: contentment is not found in getting rid of all your things and living a minimalist lifestyle. It’s not found in surpassing milestones, meeting big goals, or having a nicer home. It’s not found in focusing on the present moment or breathing deeply. While there is nothing wrong with those things, if they’re devoid of Christ, they won’t lead to lasting contentment. It is possible to get rid of all your possessions, simplify your life, reach your goals, practice a mindful life, and still battle discontentment.

With chains bruising his wrists, the apostle Paul shared how he learned the secret to contentment: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

Paul makes it crystal clear that the secret to contentment is not found in what I do . . . the secret is through Christ, who gives me strength. As Elisabeth Elliot once said, “The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.”^a

Contentment is possible when our hope is deeply rooted in Christ, who faced every temptation and struggle we face, yet was without sin. If Paul could learn contentment while confined to a prison cell, we can learn contentment too, no matter what challenges we’re up against.

This includes when your friends are getting married, and you are still single. When other couples are having children, and you remain childless. When everyone around you is healthy, and you’re facing chronic illness. When others’ lives appear to be easy, and your family is facing an unexpected trial. When your bank account is low, and bills still need to be paid. Even when things are going well, just the way you hoped. No matter the situation, the path to contentment is the same: fixing our eyes on Christ.

Jesus is the answer to your needs and longings. He is the giver of strength, the author of faith, and the source of lasting joy. When our contentment hinges not on circumstances lining up with our plans but on Christ, who is the fulfillment of God’s promises, we find strength to accept our reality and rejoice with those around us. We can enjoy eternal perspective as we live in the present moment with our gaze on the joy to come.

The secret to contentment is found not in having more or having less; it’s found in having Christ.

Word before World When Christ is the source of our contentment, no circumstance, trial, emotion, or situation can strip us of our joy.

Grow in Grace Identify an area where you are battling discontentment. How does knowing that Christ is with you and in you transform your perspective?