Most people would like to be happy, carefree and self-confident: but the Apostle Paul described himself as 'content'.  Usually, happiness depends on what happens, carefree living has no responsibilities and self-confidence comes from competence and acceptance by others.  It may sound like an idyllic life, but it is not the real world.  By contrast, Paul's life of hardship included cold and hunger, riots and imprisonments, shipwrecks and false brothers (2 Corinthians 6:4-10; 2 Corinthians 11:23-28) - yet he was able to claim he was content.  Interestingly, many today, who have none of his disadvantages, cannot find contentment.

The Greek word - translated as 'content' - has shades of 'satisfaction', 'sufficient', 'not needing more', 'enough'.  In other words, to be content is to be fully satisfied with no anxiety or agitation to be, or to have, anything more.  That is not because the individual is uncreative or unambitious, but that their heart and mind are at rest.  They are complete and thankful, joyful and satisfied.  The Apostle Paul lived like that, because he was following the example of the Lord Jesus, and was confident to be a role model for all believers (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 4:9).    

Paul's contentment was neither inherited nor the result of nice circumstances: it was learned in the hard school of the Christian life.  The dangers and personal insults were all part of the curriculum, as were the times when he could relax with plenty of good things.  The challenge was always to trust the Lord to provide for His needs, and not to trust provisions themselves.    God was not being mean to Paul.  God was testing him in his training to see if he would rely totally on the power and grace of God. Such a man of God is usable for great tasks; and we know he fulfilled his commission well (2 Timothy 4:7-8), because contentment is very different to complacency.  Contented Christians do not waste energy in fighting what they cannot win, but neither are they apathetic to the Lord's commands.  On the contrary, contentment enhances faith, logic and zeal; it enables the job to be completed with clear sightedness and commitment.

Following Jesus always involves learning this essential lesson of faith.  The learning process may be longer for some than others, but it cannot really start until we stop resenting the problems and start trusting that the Lord knows what He is doing.  Thankful trust is not specific to particular circumstances but is the normal response of mature faith to any and every situation which comes our way, because we know we have all we need at each moment.  Even the 'problem' of having an abundance of good things is a test of faith - the Lord is watching to see how we deal with the privilege He gives us. As with most learning, we rarely achieve consistency in the early stages; and sometimes we have to relearn essential basics.  However, the Lord is determined that we shall learn to accept His will in all things, and He will allow whatever is necessary to get us to that point.  So, think twice before complaining at work, or resenting a family member - the Lord wants you to pass the test so that He can use you more in the future than in the past.