None of us is completely happy with the set of circumstances we have to live with. Our circumstances vary a great deal, but one thing that we all have in common is the fact that we aren't happy with everything in our lives.

In many cases we can't do much about changing our circumstances — at least not immediately, and maybe never. What should our attitude be toward the unpleasant circumstances that we seem destined to live with?

THE APOSTLE PAUL’S ATTITUDE
The apostle Paul was used by God to write a large portion of our New Testament. He was inspired to write it by God Himself. Paul wrote letters, and in one of them he made an amazing statement that can have major positive ramifications for our lives, if we let it. He wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (Philippians 4:11) That’s truly amazing! What an achievement it is to be contented no matter what our circumstances are!

It wasn't that Paul had an easy set of circumstances. He wrote, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.” (Philippians 4:12)

We know from elsewhere in Paul’s writings, and from the historical accounts in the book of Acts, that Paul faced a great deal of difficulty and hardship in his life. He was beaten, jailed, shipwrecked, verbally abused to the extreme, and had what he called a “thorn in the flesh,” which apparently was some kind of debilitating physical problem. Later in this letter Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” (Philippians 4:14) Paul had many troubles, but he was still contented!

Paul was writing to the Philippian Christians to tell them, among other things, that he appreciated the gift of financial support that he’d received from them. He wrote, “I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.” (Philippians 4:18) The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus to deliver some financial support to Paul once they had located him. They had apparently tried to reach Paul with the support before, but they couldn't find him. Paul wrote, “Indeed you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.” (Philippians 4:10) It was difficult to keep track of where Paul was, because he went to many places on his missionary journeys.

The gift had gotten to Paul, and he was grateful. However, he wanted the Philippians to know that he was all right no matter what. That's why he wrote that amazing statement: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.”

How can we be more like Paul? How can we be contented even though our circumstances are far from ideal? After looking carefully at what Paul wrote, observing his life, and finding some other insights from the Bible, I'd like to suggest five words to remember and to act on. All five begin with the letter “C,” and I believe that they offer tremendous insight about how to find true contentment in life no matter what our circumstances are.

CHOICE
Contentment is a choice! Did you notice what Paul wrote? “I have learned the secret of being content.” He “learned” contentment; it wasn't something he came by naturally. He refers to the “secret” of contentment, implying that contentment doesn't naturally happen to you. It has to be found; it's hidden from ordinary view and experience. Contentment is a secret to be discovered. In other words, you have to choose to be contented.

Contentment doesn't come easily or naturally to us; it’s a learned trait. If you watch the children in the nursery some Sunday, you'll see my point. A child often wants the toy another child has even though he’s holding a perfectly nice toy in his own hands.

Are we willing to learn to be contented? Complaining and grumbling are sure signs that we aren’t contented. Are we willing to give up the perverted pleasure we take in grumbling and complaining? Paul chose to be contented; are we willing to believe that we also have that choice? After all, contentment is a choice!

CALL
When you look at Paul’s life it's obvious that he firmly believed that he was living a called life: the life that Jesus Christ had called him to live. At the very beginning of his letter to the Romans Paul stated, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God —” (Romans 1:1) It wasn’t an easy life that Paul was called to, but he knew that he was called — so he was contented with his life no matter what the circumstances were.

God wants us to deal His way with whatever circumstances we’re facing, to fulfill His purposes. We should see ourselves as called by the Lord to live in and through our circumstances. There are two kinds of God's will: active and passive. His active will is what He causes to happen in your life; His passive will is what He allows to happen.

Of course, God never does anything wrong — nor does He do evil. This includes the bad things that other people do to us and the diseases that assault our bodies. God may allow these things to happen; that’s His passive will. Whether something is the result of His active will or His passive will, the fact remains that He’s calling us to deal with those circumstances.

We’re called! Some people here are being called to make the best of a bad situation, whether it’s the loss of a job or loss of health, being single instead of married, a less-than-perfect marriage, or something else. Some people are being called to wait for some much-hoped-for results. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (in reference to the marital state they found themselves in, though it can apply to any set of circumstances), “Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.” (1 Corinthians 7:17)

When we live with a sense of being called by God to deal with our given circumstances, we’ll find contentment in those circumstances even though they’re far from ideal. People who are called are contented!

COMPARING
Comparing ourselves to others is a sure way to keep from being contented. We can always find someone who has it better, no matter what our circumstances are. We make ourselves miserable when we hand-select someone who has it better than we do and then keep fixating on him. Often we don't just want more of something, we want more than what someone else has. We don't just want to have things better, we want things to be better than someone else! There's always someone who has it better than we do, so we might as well get over it!

There's also always someone who’s worse off than we are, though I'm not sure we should take a great deal of pleasure in that. It does remind us, however, that we're not the only ones who suffer in a particular area.

On our mission trip we visited LaJoya, one of the poorest areas in Mexico City. People there live without most of what we have, including electricity. We did a one-day Bible school program there for the children, and our hostess was a new Christian. Her house is nothing but some blocks, boards, and tarps. Her toilet is a hole in the ground with some blocks stacked around it and an old toilet seat on the top. We just remodeled our bathroom at home; it looks quite nice now, but even the “before” picture is nowhere near as crude as what this dear lady lives with. Did you know that half of the world's population lives on less than $2 a day? Most of us don't have it so bad; we really should be more contented than we are!

This goes back to our sense of calling from God. We're not called to be like anyone else or to have things just like someone else does.

After Jesus' resurrection from the dead He took a walk with Peter and forewarned him that in the years ahead he'd have some tough times. Peter noticed the apostle John walking behind them and asked, “Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21) Jesus said to Peter, “What is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:22)

When we compare our circumstances to those of someone else and find ourselves becoming discontented, we need to remind ourselves that God has a unique call on our lives. He says to us, “What is that to you? You must follow me!”

COVET
When we compare ourselves to others and become discontented, we often move into what the Bible calls covetousness. We aren’t contented because we covet what someone else has. I'm not going to say much on this point, because what I want to say is very clear: coveting is sinning!

Remember, it's last of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17) Many times our lack of contentment with who we are or what we have is caused by sin: we covet that which isn’t ours to have.

CONFIDENCE
Finally, we can be contented when we have confidence that Jesus will help us deal with our circumstances. Let me quote again what Paul wrote: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)

One commentator wrote about Paul's statement, “The apostle had learned to be content because he had learned to trust.” (Philippians, Alec Motyer, p.219) We can be more independent of the effects of circumstances when we’re more dependent on Christ! No circumstance need be ultimately overwhelming when we have the overwhelming resources of the Lord available to us! Nothing can so drain us that the capacity of God cannot refill us! Paul told us from his own experience, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Circumstances can be very hard. My nephew Jason is married to Rebecca. When Rebecca was in her late teens or early twenties she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, and chemotherapy. The doctors told her that she’d probably never have any children, but she became pregnant! However, that good news was soon tempered by the bad news that the doctors had discovered cancer in her other breast. Her treatment became a delicate balancing act for the doctors: they had to wait until the baby was born before they could do surgery and follow-up treatment. As it turned out, Rebecca gave birth to a girl named Grace on a Monday recently and then had a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery the following Wednesday. She still has drainage tubes in her back, and because of all the muscle tissue they took out she’s never supposed to lift more than ten pounds.

I can't imagine what Rebecca and Jason are going through, because I’ve never had to face anything like it — and they're so young! When we wrote to them to say that they were in our prayers, Rebecca wrote a thank-you note back: “Thank you so much for your lovely note. Prayers provide me more strength than I can say.”

I wonder whether they look at other young families where everyone is well and wonder why it’s not like that for them. There's no rhyme or reason, as far as we can see, why she has to go through this — why they have to endure such difficult circumstances. (We’re praying that she’ll beat it; you pray, too, OK?)

I know that God didn’t cause her cancer, but obviously He has allowed it. We must conclude that because this is their current set of circumstances, it must be God's call that they live through them. Sometimes suffering or other far-from-ideal circumstances are what we’re called to. Rebecca says that she depends on prayer; we all need to do that. In our less-than-ideal circumstances we need to have supreme confidence that Christ will help us do all things — and then we can somehow, some way, with His help, be contented!