The Logic of Contentment
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899—1981) was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher, and medical doctor who was influential in the Reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London.
In this passage from Spiritual Depression, Lloyd-Jones expounds Paul’s famous passage on contentment in Philippians 4.
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. Philippians 4:10–12
Paul had come to learn this great truth by working out a great argument. Let me give you some of the steps of the argument which you can work out for yourself. I think the apostle’s logic was something like this. He said to himself:
Conditions are always changing, therefore I must obviously not be dependent upon conditions.
What matters supremely is my soul and my relationship with God—that is the first thing.
God is concerned about me as my Father, and nothing happens to me apart from God. Even the very hairs of my head are all numbered. I must never forget that.
God’s will and God’s ways are a great mystery, but I know that whatever he wills or permits is of necessity for my good.
Every situation in life is the unfolding of some manifestation of God’s love and goodness. Therefore my business is to look for this particular manifestation of God’s goodness and his kindness and be prepared for surprises and blessings because “His ways are not my ways, nor his thoughts my thoughts.” What, for example, is the great lesson that Paul learned in the matter of the thorn in the flesh? It is that: “When I am weak then am I strong”. Paul was taught through physical weakness this manifestation of God’s grace.
I must regard circumstances and conditions, not in and of themselves therefore, but as a part of God’s dealings with me in the work of perfecting my soul and bringing me to final perfection.
Whatever my conditions may be at this present moment they are only temporary, they are only passing, and they can never rob me of the joy and the glory that ultimately await me in Christ.