Christian Contentment: A Rare Jewel (Abridged)

We all wish to be happy, but it is not easy for us to achieve. The problem is that we believe that only by obtaining more of what this world offers us can we have happiness. The apostle Paul had a very different attitude. Paul wrote: "I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 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..." (Phil. 4:11-12) The apostle had learned the secret of contentment, whatever his place or circumstance. God is the only source of true happiness. God does not need anything or anyone to make Him happy; even before the world was, the three persons of the Trinity were in complete happiness. God makes believers happy, just as He is. This is necessary because believers are not strong and good enough to make themselves happy. God gives them everything they need as John wrote: "From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace" (Jn. 1:16). So believers can always be happy, because even when they have very little of what this world offers, they have spiritual blessings from God. In Christ, they have all the things they need.