Bible Studies for Life: August 17

Contentment • Philippians 4:10-20

By Becky Brown

My beloved granny memorized a proverb from scripture for just about every life situation. One of her frequent flyers came from Proverbs 30:8-9 which reads, “Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the LORD’ or that I not be in want and steal and profane the name of my God.” This was her definition of contentment.  She would say, “Babe, there are two things I have never been in this life…wealthy or hungry. God has always supplied our every need in this home. We have chosen to find our peace in Him.”  

How do you spell contentment? True believers who rest their lives in the hands of God should spell it J-E-S-U-S. If we seek our contentment in any “one” else other than Jesus or in any “thing” whatsoever, we will never find peace. The definition of contentment includes several shades of the word joy such as  satisfaction, fulfillment, happiness, gladness, cheerfulness. 

Paul’s letter to the Philippian church family contains 103 verses in four short chapters. The most identifiable theme for the letter is joyfulness. “Brethren” is Paul’s key word of personal address. Their relational connection with God, Paul, and each other is palpable.  

In Acts 16, we read about the landing of Paul’s ship in the port of Neapolis in Macedonia, modern day Greece. This was the second of three missionary journeys of Paul. His first journey was with Barnabas and John Mark. This time, Silas was his journey companion. On our 2002 trip to trace the journeys of Paul, I can remember standing on the shore of the Aegean Sea in Neapolis thanking the Lord that He led Paul and Silas to that part of the world. The gospel continued to spread all the way to my own life.  

Philippi was the next nearest town to Neapolis. It was a Roman colony. Paul and Silas met Lydia the purple seller, an un-named female fortune-teller and a Roman jailer. Lydia was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart in response to the gospel Paul preached. They would lodge in her home in Philippi.  

The fortune-teller lost her lucrative business of divination when Paul cast out her evil spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. Immediately, her angry “employers” made sure Paul and Silas met the aforementioned Roman jailer. Their next B&B venue was not in Lydia’s home but the local jail. The Roman jailer and his family met Jesus.

Through a miracle intervention of the Lord, their jail time was short lived.  The next day, Paul and Silas used their Roman citizen cards to remain free and continued to pour into the lives of believers in Philippi. A new church was established there, a church which helped Paul financially as he continued to travel and minister and share Christ with people. The Philippians had sent gifts to Paul by the hand of a man named Epaphroditus.

Paul was using this letter to say thank you to them for their concern for his welfare evidenced by their tangible financial generosity. His desire was for them to know that he was dependent first on the Lord. For that reason, all his needs would be met. He assured them he was content in all circumstances. He wanted them to know his strength to move forward came straight from the Lord. He assured them the Lord had used them to be a part of that provision. 

All of the glory still belonged to God. Paul also wrote to assure them that the needs of those in Philippi would also be met by those same riches in glory found in Christ Jesus. Every need would be supplied. My granny would also quip, “God meets ALL of my needs and He even provides a few of my wants!” That piece of wisdom was not a “proverb” but it certainly was true in her life. I’m so glad her trust in God passed through the generation of her only daughter, my mother, all the way to me.  

Ponder this. Paul was writing this particular letter from prison. Most likely, he was in prison in Rome approximately two years before he would have been beheaded for his faith in 64AD. He was most probably chained to a Roman soldier. His contented heart modeled comfort and joy and spoke volumes.  

Brown leads LittleBrownLight Ministries.