“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.” –Philippians 3:11-12

I’ve always wondered a little about this passage. Paul claims to know a secret; a secret that enables him to live in perfect contentment. If the world knew this secret, all of humanity’s agony would cease. And yet, Paul neglects to let us in on this little mystery. He doesn’t tell us where to find the buried treasure or the fountain of youth. He doesn’t give us a 12 step program or a self-actualization pep-talk. Sure he tells us that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him in the very next verse, but it seems to me that if the secret were as simple as Christ doing the strengthening, there wouldn’t be so many Christians complaining.

On the other hand, Christ himself could be Paul’s secret. Furthermore, perhaps we complain because we don’t know Christ, and we aren’t content because we won’t let him be our strength.

Contentment has to do with unfulfilled desire. If all we desire is for Jesus Christ to Be, then the peace of the Lord is ours. John tells us not to hold dear the things of the world. I John 2:16 tells us “all that is in the world, the excessive desire of the flesh, the excessive desire of the eyes, and the vainglory of life, is not out of the Father, but out of the world.” Our discontentment stems from our flesh. We are children who desire toys that will harm us. We are addicts who crave that which makes us crave. We are filled with unfulfilled longing, because we do not long to be filled with Him.

Paul didn’t have to state explicitly what he meant by the secret of his contentment, because all of his writings, all of his preaching and every aspect of his life was the explicit explanation of this principle. He had seen the living God on the road to Damascus, and from that point on he considered everything but the knowledge of Jesus Christ to be a liability. He turned away from the worship of the creation which held him in bondage to the desires of the flesh toward the worship of the creator who set him free.

It is easy for me to consider these things and become discouraged. It is easy to look at my life and see the places where my heart is not entirely pure; the places where I am tugged and pulled down by the weights of this life that would so easily entangle me. I want to resolve completely in my mind to desire only Christ who is my life, yet my will is incomplete and I lack the strength to wrestle my flesh to the ground and tread upon its corpse. However, I realize that in the life of Paul it was not he who conquered his flesh, but only Jesus, the crucified, who could nail it to the cross. It was only the mighty arm of the Father that reached down and raised him up out of the pit in resurrection. And it was only the Holy Spirit dwelling in him that kept him on the path of life and prevented his feet from slipping.

Let us therefore cry out to the Father, knowing that he longs to give us what we ask. Let us pray for a pure heart that desires only him. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit that would fill that desire. Only by his hand can we be content.