True Christian contentment, being dependent on God and thus independent of circumstances, is achievable for any Christian in any situation.  It is not freedom from desire or ignorance of circumstances, but is instead an inner peace empowered by Christ with the foundation of trust in the sovereignty and goodness of God.  Therefore, we must strive for true Christian contentment. 

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
–Philippians 4:11-13, ESV

What is the secret to facing any situation in life?  In ancient times, philosophers would try to find it through reason and contemplation, while others would go on pilgrimages to consult with oracles in order to find it.  We could even consider Ecclesiastes to be Solomon’s search for this secret.  But the Apostle Paul stated with confidence that he had found it (Philippians 4:11-13).  Then, with little elaboration, he simply moves on from the topic.  He says that he learned how to be content in any situation (verse 11), whether he had much or little (verse 12).  That is astounding for a man who was often beaten and imprisoned, stoned and left for dead once, shipwrecked multiple times, often hungry and thirsty, and almost constantly in danger from all manner of threats, even describing himself as ever near death (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).  How could he be content in all of that?  To understand how Paul could be content in such hardship, we need to understand what contentment really means.  If we can truly grasp Christian contentment and then achieve it, we like Paul will be able to face any situation.  In doing so, we will find that true contentment is a rare treasure for which all Christians should stive.
What Contentment Is and Isn’t
What does it mean to be content?  The Greek term Paul uses for contentment was borrowed from Greek philosophers who used it to denote complete self-sufficiency.  They thought that if someone had all he needed and relied on no one else, he would be content.  However, the Christian is not to be self-sufficient but completely dependent on God.  That is the definition of faith.  True saving faith goes beyond mere intellectual ascent (see James 2:14-26) and instead places complete trust in Christ such that if He does not uphold His promises, we are doomed to eternal ruin (see Romans 4 and Hebrews 11).  Thus, faith is completely dependent on God and not on ourselves.  Therefore, contentment to a Christian cannot be a worldly self-sufficiency that is dependent on no one else.  Some may think contentment means to be free of want or desire.  However, this cannot be the case since God Himself is perfectly self-sufficient and thus perfectly content yet is referred to throughout Scripture as having various (and often intense) desires (eg. Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13, John 17:24).  Therefore, desires and contentment must be able to coexist.  Paul exhibits this by relaying his own intense desires (eg. Romans 10:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:17, 1 Timothy 2:8).  Earlier in the same letter, Paul shares his intense yearning for fellowship with the saints (Philippians 1:8).  He also shares his desire to be finished with his work on earth and go to heaven to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23).  He also talks of striving hard towards a goal (Philippians 3:12-14), but all the while he constantly speaks in the letter about his joy and rejoicing.  Paul uses similar language throughout 2 Corinthians as well.  This means that desires are not incompatible with true contentment.
So what is contentment for the Christian?  Perhaps Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs defined it best in 1648 in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.   This is a wonderful book that I would recommend to every Christian.  All of my references to Burroughs throughout this post are from that book.  Here is how Burroughs defines contentment: “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”.[1]  First, it is important to note that Christian contentment is an inward disposition that is independent of external circumstances.  Second, this type of contentment is a gracious gift of God that is impossible to achieve without God granting it to us, which I will explain a bit later.  Finally, contentment comes from both submitting to God’s Will and delighting in it, not only because He is the sovereign King over all creation but also because He is a loving Father who always does what is ultimately best for His children.  This means that this type of contentment looks beyond self and ultimately relies on God, inextricably linking it to both faith and humility.  This is the mysterious contentment that Paul both discovered and displayed.  Burroughs goes on to point out that this type of contentment does not exclude complaining to God amidst difficult situations even as we trust His sovereignty and goodness in them (as is often seen in the Psalms).  He also points out that being content does not preclude the Christian from seeking ways out of present circumstances or seeking legal recourse when appropriate.  One example of this is when Paul used the privileges of his Roman citizenship to avoid a beating (Acts 22).  The key here is that no matter what action we take in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, inner peace that trusts in both the sovereignty and goodness of God is the mark of true Christian contentment.  In Philippians, Paul claims to have that contentment.
I Can Do All Things?
The reason that Paul gives is one of the most well-known and misused verses in the entire Bible: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  It is often used by Christians facing any number of challenging situations as a rallying cry to overcome them.  But that is not at all what Paul is saying, so this has led to a common satirical paraphrase among Reformed Christians: “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context”.  To understand what Paul means, we need to do what we must do with every verse in Scripture: read it in its proper context (as I discussed in an earlier post on how to properly study the Bible).  In contrast to most of Paul’s letters, Philippians is overwhelmingly positive.  I have already noted how “joy” and “rejoice” appear frequently throughout the letter.  This is mainly because Paul was not writing this letter to correct a particular issue in the church (like 1 Corinthians or Galatians) or to instruct people in the Gospel (like Romans or Ephesians).  Instead, Philippians is a thank you note.  When Paul was a prisoner in Rome and in need of provisions, the Philippian church donated to meet his need, sending Epaphroditus to Rome with their gift.  Paul wrote Philippians in response, thanking them for their gift and encouraging them both about his own welfare and what their gift demonstrated about their progress in godliness.  He explains how his imprisonment had actually served to advance the Gospel (1:12-18).  Later, he gives a glorious description of the humility and subsequent exaltation of Jesus amidst exhortations for the Philippians to follow Christ’s example of humility in hope of future exaltation (2:1-18).  He doesn’t get around to thanking them for their gift until halfway through the last chapter, first rejoicing in how the Philippians’ gift demonstrated their concern for him (4:10), while reminding them that regardless of whether they had given it to him he would have been content because of the strength Christ provides (4:11-13).  He then recognizes their pattern of generosity toward him (4:14-15), emphasizing how their gift is a sacrifice to God and that God will supply all of their needs too (4:17-19) before ending the letter with a benediction (4:20) and final greetings (4:21-23).  Therefore, the context of Philippians 4:13 is all about Paul’s situation of need that was then abundantly met by the gift of the Philippians.  It has nothing to do with being able to overcome any challenge, but instead has everything to do with the ability to face any situation with the strength that Christ provides.  This is an important distinction.  Paul is not talking about overcoming all situations he faces, but being content in all situations he faces.  Therefore, Paul is talking about how Christ has empowered him to be content, so therein we can find the way that we too can be content as Paul was.
How Christ Strengthens Us to be Content
The promise of Philippians 4:13 is that Christ will empower us to be content in any circumstance, not that He will empower us to overcome any circumstance.  He does this in several ways.
God’s Sovereignty Over All
First, He empowers us to be content through His sovereignty.  Jesus Christ rules the entire universe (Matthew 28:18) so comprehensively that not one subatomic particle can defy Him, since it is only by His power that they even exist (Hebrews 1:3).  Humans and demons can sin against Him, but even that sin cannot prevent Him from fulfilling His purpose (see Romans 9 and Job).  As the second person of the Trinity, He possesses all of the attributes of God, including omniscience (knowing everything) and omnipotence (having power over everything).  And having power over everything, He perfectly orchestrates everything to advance His purpose, which is known as His Providence.  The sovereignty of God is an invincible fortress.  All those in Christ are in that fortress and can therefore say with the psalmists “what can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:4,11, 118:6).  Therefore, Christian contentment begins by resting in the sovereignty of God over all things.
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The simple truth is, we must ask this question and think carefully about it: What aspects or parts of OT law carry over into the NT, and which do not? Those of differing theological persuasions will answer this question differently. Theonomists, or Christian reconstructionists, for example will see almost all of the law carrying through, including the civil laws and their penalties, while other Christians will claim that only the moral law does.

Is Jesus at odds with Moses here?
In my previous article on this topic I noted how the Old Testament expresses the concept of lex talionis, or the principle of retaliation and retribution. I noted the three main passages on this, and sought to provide a larger framework by which we might understand these texts.
A major point I sought to make was that this principle was actually an improvement on that of many other ancient cultures in that it strictly limited personal revenge and sought to put crime and punishment in the context of a just social and political order. As we put it today: ‘the penalty should fit the crime.’ That is how we are to understand this biblical principle.
The Relationship Between the Old Testament Law and the New Testament
The topic of this subheading has been extensively discussed and debated over the centuries, and entire libraries exist with books on this and related matters, so I can only give the briefest of outlines here. For one short and general look at these issues, see this piece: billmuehlenberg.com/2018/10/08/the-law-and-the-christian/
The simple truth is, we must ask this question and think carefully about it: What aspects or parts of OT law carry over into the NT, and which do not? Those of differing theological persuasions will answer this question differently. Theonomists, or Christian reconstructionists, for example will see almost all of the law carrying through, including the civil laws and their penalties, while other Christians will claim that only the moral law does. And not every believer is even happy with that threefold division of the law (moral, civil and ceremonial).
Again, whole libraries have been penned on such matters. As but one helpful discussion of how OT law fit in to the NT, see the discussion by Roy Gane in his 2004 NIVAC commentary on Leviticus and Numbers, pp. 305-314. Here is just one quote from that work: “Properly viewed within a covenant framework of love and grace, God’s law is not ‘legalistic’ and obedience to it is not ‘legalism’. People are legalistic when they put his law in place of his grace as a means of salvation.”
And Gane wrote an entire book on these issues in 2017: Old Testament Law for Christians. See the details of that book and nearly 40 others I list in the article I linked to just above.
Jesus and Lex Talionis
But the Christian will immediately think of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount as found in Matthew 5:38-42:

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

The question is, do those words nullify what the OT taught about lex talionis? I think not. A major part of understanding what Jesus was referring to here is to realise he is offering a personal ethic for the individual believer. He is NOT saying there is no place for justice to be administered by the state to punish evildoers.
That is, if I am slapped in the face, I can turn the other cheek as a Christian.
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Jesus tells the disciples, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God” (v. 10). In other words, the message of the gospel that Jesus preached is “the secrets of the kingdom” that must be revealed. It is the light that ignites the lamp of our lives. And that light must not be hidden but must shine so that others may see it too.

“Getting the Most Out of Expositional Preaching”
When I was a teenager, I often failed to do what my parents asked of me in a timely and adequate manner. At the root of my problem, they had often to point out, was the fact that I “just didn’t listen.” In many ways, a failure to listen lies at the root of most of our struggles to grow as Christians. We hear partially. We hear what pleases us and edit out the rest. We mishear. We ignore. We reinterpret what we hear. It’s not simply that we have failed to understand what God is saying to us. It’s that we have preferred not to listen.
Jesus’s famous parable of the sower in Luke 8 outlines various responses to the Word of God. Given how famous the parable is, the passage that follows is often overlooked, yet it has much to say to us about how we listen to God in the preaching of his Word. First, Jesus imagines a ridiculous scenario: lighting a lamp and then putting it under a jar or a bed. This, of course, defeats the purpose of lighting it. It makes no sense. Instead, the lamp goes “on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light” (v. 16). That’s why we light lamps. In the context of the chapter, read alongside the parable of the sower, Jesus is saying that those who have received the Word in faith are like lamps that have been lit. Their purpose is to shine the light of the Word in such a way that others might be drawn to it and welcomed in.
Jesus reinforces that point with this principle: “Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light” (v. 17). To understand what is being said here, we should not miss how Jesus uses the same language to talk about his own message. He tells the disciples, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God” (v. 10). In other words, the message of the gospel that Jesus preached is “the secrets of the kingdom” that must be revealed. It is the light that ignites the lamp of our lives. And that light must not be hidden but must shine so that others may see it too.
Well, so what? What difference should Jesus’s teaching about the Word here really make? Jesus drives home the implications: “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (v. 18). This verse serves as a conclusion for the whole section of Luke 8, beginning with the parable of the sower, that deals with the way the Word of God works. Verse 18 tells us that the key issue, the vital factor, must be how we hear the Word.
Hebrews 2:1 makes a similar point. The author urges his readers to “pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” When it comes to the way we listen to preaching, the stakes are far higher than we may at first imagine. Hebrews 2:1 warns us of spiritual drift. Luke 8:18 goes even further and warns of eternal consequences if we “have not” when, through the preaching of the Word, every opportunity to “have” has been afforded us. So what does it mean to take care how we hear? How shall we “pay much closer attention to what we have heard”? These are the questions we hope to answer in this chapter. Put more directly, we need to know how we can get the most from expositional preaching.
The Westminster Larger Catechism offers some important help. It asks, “What is required of those that hear the word preached?” and answers, “It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.”
This is an excerpt from the chapter, “Getting the Most Out of Expositional Preaching” from David Strain’s book, “Expository Preaching,” part of the Blessings of the Faith series. Pick up a copy of “Expository Preaching” for more insight into the importance and benefits of this approach to the Word of God. Used with permission.