We have come to an end to this short but rich letter. There are two things that Paul mentions in this chapter that I think we all struggle with… Anxiety and contentment. Anxiety is a worry or fear we have of something that might take place in the future, while contentment is a present state of satisfaction with how things are. Most of us when we think of anxiety don’t really correlate it with contentment, but there is a reason why Paul mentions one right after the other. Let’s first look at anxiety.

Anxiety - Paul commands the Philippians not to be anxious but with thanksgiving let their request be made known to God. Interestingly, there is a promise that comes when we do this by faith, Paul says (v7) “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This world is filled with things that we can worry about, that can cause us fear, that can really shake us at our core, but what we ought to do as Christians is to be thankful for what we already have knowing that we have a God who is alive and active and brings a peace that surpasses all understanding upon our hearts. This is a very real promise that we have when we obey in doing this. When we pray that does not mean that our circumstances will change, but it does mean that God is able to change the disposition of our hearts toward peace during trials.

Contentment - When Paul speaks of contentment, if you notice, he never says that it is something that was given to him, but he says, “for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” God can most definitely give us a measure of contentment by his grace, but what we see in the life of Paul is that he had to learn to be content, which is what God had to teach him. Read 2 Corinthians 11 and see all the ways that Paul suffered, what you will see is that through each trial God was teaching him to be content with what was happening more and more. When we go through trials in this life, part of what God teaches us is to continuously grow in learning to be content by his grace. We can learn to be content by not being anxious but by knowing that God is able to work out all things for our good and even though trials may be painful, we can endure all trials through Jesus Christ. That is why Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We can learn to grow in contentment through the different seasons of life we go through.

How do they relate? - It is hard to learn to grow in contentment when we are constantly anxious. Anxiety clouds our minds, and it makes it difficult to be thankful for what we have, and it makes it difficult to soberly think about how we can grow in contentment through the things we go through in life. Instead, Paul commands us to bring our anxiety to the Lord in prayer and to trust that God will give us peace and that peace will help us to examine the circumstances of life. That is why Paul says, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” When we make a practice of this, it will help us to see how good and great God is and that will cause us to have a mindset to learn to grow in contentment, knowing that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Let me leave you with two quotes, one on anxiety and the other on contentment.

For anxiety, Spurgeon once said “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.” Do not be anxious because it is God’s sovereign hand that put you there in the first place and that controls your future.

For contentment, Jeremiah Burroughs, puritan and author of “The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment,” once said “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” Contentment is accepting things as they are as the wise and loving providence of God.