Is it possible to have peace? I mean to be content
in the midst of adverse, challenging, and uncertain
circumstances. The Bible would say yes. The question
is how? And that's today. Welcome to this edition
of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. The mission
of this daily program is to intentionally disciple
Christians through the insightful Bible teaching
of Chip Ingram. You know, over the past few years,
I'm sure we've all experienced times when peace
felt unrealistic or unreachable, whether that
was because of our chaotic world or personal
anxiety. But today, Chip's going to challenge
us to shift our perspective as he continues his
series, I Choose Peace. In this program, he'll
share a few valuable principles that'll help
you hang on to God's gift of peace, even when
our world seems like it's falling apart. So if
you're ready, go to Philippians chapter 4 in
your Bible as we join Chip for his message in
difficult circumstances. Webster, if you're wondering
exactly what contentment is, says that contentment
is happy enough with what one has or is, not
desiring something more or different. In other
words, you're satisfied. When you're content,
it's not just you're happy with what you have,
you're happy with who you are. You wouldn't want
to be three inches taller or seven inches shorter
or, you know, you're content. You would say,
it's enough, it's good. And I want you to think
back to what is it you believe would really help
you be content. And the clearer that you can
get on that, I believe the more powerfully God
is going to speak to you. Because in human terms,
the problem with contentment is that the horizon
is always moving. I mean, there's a time in your
life where you say, you know, if I ever get a
car, any kind of car, a beat -up junk or just
a car, then I'd be happy. You know, then you
get that car and you want one that really runs.
And then you get that car. And then pretty soon
you want one that runs and looks nice and you
get that car. And pretty soon now you want two
cars. And, you know, it goes on and on and on
and on. The horizon always keeps moving. If I
ever get married, God, I'd never ask for another
thing. Three years later, oh, God, if you could
ever work out this marriage, I'd never ask for
another thing. God, if you'd give me, give us
a child. Oh, Lord, how did you bring that last
one, you know? The horizon keeps moving. And
so being human nature what it is, philosophically,
people over the ages have tried to solve this
contentment issue in two drastic ways. One group
has taken that contentment will be found by conquering,
achieving, acquiring until satisfied. That was
sort of the Roman Empire. You know what? We got
part of the world. We're going to get the whole
world. You know, we're going to own, acquire,
have, get, bigger, better, more. And then as
soon as we get that, there's got to be just a
little bit more. And when we do, then we'll be
content. But we kind of know from our personal
experience that that doesn't work. Sure, it's
nice to have nice stuff. It's nice to have a
better job than the one you used to have, et
cetera, et cetera. But, you know, that horizon
keeps moving. And, you know, it's kind of a funny
thing. You think to yourself, you know, I really,
I like this watch until we went to the mall yesterday.
I mean, this was a great watch, you know, hypothetically.
Then you walk by and you see Bulova, Rolex. I
guess it's an okay watch. And so no matter, but
if I turned this one in and got another one,
I could go to the mall next week, couldn't I?
And have the exact same problem. And so in philosophic
thought, one group of people thought, that's
not the way to go. It's not about getting, getting,
acquiring, and having, because there's no end
to it. A group called the Stoics turned it around
and said, we're going to desire less and less
until it doesn't matter. In fact, Eastern and
Buddhist thought goes along these lines. I want
less, less, less, less. And so the Stoic philosophers
got where they could emotionally detach. They
would take a vase or a cup that they liked, and
as a part of the process of their thinking, they
would throw it to the ground, watch it break,
and say, it doesn't matter. And then they would
literally allow, this is historical, they would
get a pet that they were fond of and kill the
pet. And then say, it doesn't matter. The only
way to have peace is get less and less and less.
And then when one of their children died or something
happened, it would be, it can't impact me. I
like the quote of T .R. Glover said, the Stoics
made the heart a desert and called it peace.
And I don't know about you, but we got a little
problem here. If getting more, more, more, more
can never bring contentment, and if desiring
less, less, less, then the question is how can
we be satisfied today? And the answer to that
It's from the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, and he's going to tell you and he's going
to tell me how you actually can be content. Not
when this, this, this. You can be content today.
You can actually live your life in a way empowered
by the Spirit of God so that when things are
great or when things are terrible, you can say
and mean it, it is well with my soul. And you're
going to learn it today. In fact, when I got
thinking about this, we should have charged people
to come in. I mean, it can have such a profound
impact in terms of the whole world's looking
for happiness. And today, God is going to teach
us, his children, how you can experience a, it
is well with your soul, 24 -7, 365, 24 hours
a day. Now, it's a journey. It doesn't happen
all at once. Well, let's find out where that
answer's found. Philippians chapter 4, 10 to
13. If you have your Bible, you can. Track along
with me, but I put the text in so we could be
in the same translation. Here's the occasion.
The occasion is the Apostle Paul is in prison.
So you've got to remember he's writing a letter,
and this church, the Philippian church, they've
got this great relationship, and it's the theme
of this whole letter that he writes to them is
about joy, and it started in such a way where
there's not a lot of problems in this church.
One made a little relational problem toward the
end, but he's built this bond with them. And
things have gone a little bit south for him.
He's ended up in jail. He's in a Roman prison.
And I'm not exactly sure what all that, but I
know that every four to six hours, a new guard
is chained to him. The food is not real good.
He's got scars on his body. He's had a very difficult
life. This is toward the latter parts of his
life. So you got bad food. It's cold. It's damp.
There's rats. There's probably the smell of excrements.
I mean, his situation is really bad. But Epaphroditus,
one of the... church guys found out finally,
because they lost track of one another, where
he was, and they came and brought him a gift.
And what you're going to read is his literal
thank you note. He's just writing a thank you
note. So listen to what he says in verse 10.
He says, I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at
last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed,
you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity
to show it. And circle, if you were, that word
renewed. This word renewed is used for when a
flower or a plant that has been dormant is now
beginning to bloom. And the Apostle Paul is saying,
you know, we had those great times together and
God birthed the church and we were that band
of brothers and sisters. And then I ended up
in prison. We lost track of one another. I knew
you cared about me, but now you have opportunity.
And it's like the relationship has bloomed again.
And notice the phrase, I greatly rejoice. I'm
happy. I'm sitting in this prison, but I greatly
rejoice in the Lord. And then notice he's going
to clarify his motives, because I don't know
about you. You know, sometimes if you've helped
someone, this is the only church we know of early
on that financially supported Paul. It was the
first one. And so he wants them to know, now
this is not like one of those thank you letters.
Thank you for this great contribution to the
ministry. Now let me tell you how much money
I need next. He says, my motives are just from
the heart. Picking it up in verse 11, he says,
I'm not saying this because I'm in need. For
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
He goes on to say, I know what it is to be in
need. I know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and
every situation, whether well -fed or hungry,
whether living in plenty or in want. Now, would
you go through and take the word learned and
put a box around it and then skip down where
he says, I've learned again? It's very interesting.
This isn't a tense of the verb. It's not present
tense. I am learning to be content. This is a
tense of the verb that's punctiliar, seeing something.
He basically is saying, in this journey with
God, I've had mountain peaks and low times. I
remember when I had a lot. I was a young man.
Some say he may have been the most brilliant
mind of his time. He got his MBA and his doctorate
at Harvard Business School of his day and graduated
number one. He was a Pharisee. He came from an
upper crust family. He was a Roman citizen. He
was from this place called Tarsus. Barnabas,
early friend, was very, very wealthy. He knows
what it's like to drive the nicest cars, have
the nicest clothes, be esteemed by people, live
in a nice house, go to any restaurant whenever,
and have a fat 401k. He knows what that life's
like. But he says, I've had plenty. But he also
says, the ups, I've also had downs, night and
day in the deep. I've been beat within an inch
of my life, the 39 lashes, three times. I've
been left for dead once. In this current situation,
one of his closest friends named Demas betrayed
him and left. He's by himself. His body is marked
with the scars. He's been times where he has
had no food for days at a time. He's lived as
high as you can live in his day, and he's lived
as low as you can live. And in the ups and downs,
there's a thread that connects all of them, and
it's the supernatural relationship with Jesus.
And he says, he looks at that whole thing, and
he says, like he's taking a photograph, snap,
I have learned. Now, this is what he's saying,
like I learned to ride a bike, okay? I'm not
learning to ride a bike. If you put a bike up
here, Trust me, I can get on it and I can ride
it. I can get better, but I have learned to ride
a bike. You know what he's saying here? I've
learned to be content. It means it's possible.
I've learned to have a ton of money in the bank,
go to the finest restaurants, have everything
going my way, and I've learned when my physical
body didn't work, when my closest friends betrayed
me, when people walked out on my life, and when
it seemed like things could not be any worse,
I have learned already out of my relationship
with Christ to say and to actually experience
it's well with my soul. No fake, no artificial.
And then in verse 13, he tells us how it occurs.
He says, I actually can do everything through
Christ who gives me strength. So this is by way
of an overview of what's happening, and by way
of conclusion, contentment is not a thing to
be achieved, but a secret to be discovered. As
we're here today, you can actually discover a
secret. There is a way. He said, I've learned
the secret, and he says, I've got it. I am content.
It's not something to be achieved. There is a...
pattern of things that you can learn that you
could walk out that door or one of those doors
out of this and you could start a journey and
you could come to the point in this life that
regardless of your circumstances, you could be
fully satisfied, content, not want for anything
else and be satisfied and content with who you
are, where you are, what you're doing. You're
listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
We'll get back to today's message in just a minute.
But first, if you're wanting to do a deeper study
of Philippians chapter 4 with Chip, check out
his popular book, I Choose Peace. You'll discover
how to willfully and purposely choose the peace
that only God can offer. Stick around after the
broadcast to learn more. Well, with that, here
again is Chip. And this word means, the word
content means self -sufficiency. This is not
the removal of, I love what one commentator says,
he learned the secret of deep peace based on
detachment from his outward circumstances. And
then he goes on to say, this is not a fatalism
which cuts the nerve of ambition or smooth endeavors,
no. It is a detachment from anxious concern about
the outward features of this life. This kind
of contentment doesn't mean you, well, I'm gonna
lay back on the couch and this is pressing on,
being all you want to be. And in the midst of
the ups and downs of life, a veritable peace
in your heart, a satisfaction that's supernatural.
And the question I want to ask is, how do you
get that? I mean, Paul knew it was a moving target.
Paul knew from his experience that getting more
and more and more wouldn't do it. Paul knew,
I mean, the philosophers of his day, there were
multiple Stoics. He knew pretending that relationships
don't matter and saying less and less isn't it.
And the Apostle Paul on this morning, on this
day in your life and mine is going to say, I'm
going to share the secret. I will show you in
this text, he's saying to us, how you can be
content. So let's dig in. Four principles and
four practices. Okay, this isn't idealistic.
This isn't like one of those messages somewhere
someday. He's going to walk you through and walk
me through four specific practices that there's
a principle behind them that if you understand
the principle and start to progressively begin
to practice it, you can come to a day in your
life where you could say, I've learned to be
content. Just like you can say, I can ride a
bike. Just like you can say, I've mastered. This
or that, you can learn to be content. It's pretty
exciting. The question's how. Contrary to the
lie that I'll be content when my circumstances
align with my desires, the first secret of contentment
is learning our contentment principle number
one is not dependent on our circumstances. See,
unconsciously, what you've been taught, what
I've been taught, what the world teaches us,
what each commercial says is Here's your circumstances
over here, and here's your desires. Someday,
someway, through lots of things, when your circumstances
and desires align, then you can be happy. Then
you can be satisfied. I call it the when -then
syndrome. Here's the when. When I get married,
then I'll be happy. When I have a great job,
then I'll be happy. When my marriage is on all
cylinders, Then I'll be happy. When we have a
child, when we have more money, when we have
a second house, when we remodel the bathroom,
when I make the cheerleading squad, when I finally
score this on the SAT, when I get into this college,
when, when, when, then, then, then, then. It's
a lie. The people that have the then are not
happy. And yet we, like cats chasing their tail,
just increase the speed. of the when -then mentality.
Paul says the answer is to break the power of
this lie, and he gives us the practice. Be grateful.
Be grateful. Be thankful. Put another way, develop
the discipline of thanking God for what you do
have instead of focusing on what you don't have.
You understand that billions of dollars each
year coming across the screen in every magazine
ad are designed specifically to make you what?
Discontent. In other words, that set of clothes
will make you. So I got to go get that. This
food will make you. This drink will make you.
This job will make you. This surgery will make
you. This diet will make you. When? Then. When?
Then. Paul says. Human nature is we focus on
what we don't have, don't have, don't have. He
says, here's what I've learned. I habitually,
relentlessly, obediently thank God moment for
moment for what I do have. And this is not like
a sort of a nice suggestion, you know, power
of positive thinking. Jot down, if you will,
1 Thessalonians 5, verses 16 through 18. 16 says
rejoice always. 17 says pray without ceasing.
18 says for giving thanks in all things for this
is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. The
giving of thanks in all things and for all things,
it's God's will. Let me give you a picture. By
the way, Christian or not. You can be a Christian
and be a very ungrateful, grumbling person. And
it can be very, very subtle and destroy your
contentment. I married a wonderful, wonderful
woman named Teresa sitting over there. And we
had no premarital counseling. And she loved God
and I loved God. And within six months, we were
in seminary. And everything about her was, she's
east, I'm west, north, I'm south. I mean, we
only have to take one test on all those inventories.
Whoever takes the test, then whatever that person
is, you just put the exact opposite, and that's
what you are. Saves a lot of time. And so differences
attract. I mean, like two magnets, it was like,
boom, oh, man, this is awesome. But about nine
months into our marriage or a year, year and
a half as we kept going, those opposites, she
was very, very faithful. Now she's rigid. She
has great integrity. Now she's just picky over
little things. And so, you know, I had a list
after about six or eight months in our marriage.
I'm thinking, you know, this is, you know, it's
a good marriage, but I focused on the 5%. I just
kind of unconsciously said, you know, there's
five or six things that she can improve, and
when she improves, we'll have a great marriage.
So I started the self -help program of how to
make Teresa who she needs to be. You know, if
she was a little more that way, a little more
that way, a lot less that way, if she would do
this, stop doing this, this is going to be great.
So? You know, it's a project. Got to do what
you're supposed to do. So I decided to focus
on those areas you need to develop. Now, a lot
of times I never said anything, but this is what's
going through my mind. And it comes out in my
habits. And pretty soon, we're, you know what,
we really love each other. We really love God.
And I'm in seminary preparing for ministry, and
we're making each other nuts. And I got to tell
you something, not only did God provide some
wise pastoral counseling and we went to some
counseling and worked through some of our baggage
and we learned all that, but I'll tell you at
the heart of it, and I still do it, you know,
almost, I don't know, 27, 30 years later, I still
do it. I begin the process of being grateful
and thanking God for what I did have in my life
and stop focusing on the 5 % that I didn't have.
It'll change your world. I mean, to this day,
I'll still go out to a coffee shop, and sometimes
just when I'm struggling emotionally, and everyone
does, and you have these little kind of distances
in your marriage, I will often get out a napkin
and start writing down, she is faithful. She's
an awesome mom. Man, she prays for me. She is
beautiful. And I'll just write down all the things,
and I'll thank God, thank God, thank God, thank
God. You know what happens? My emotions change.
And when my emotions change, I treat her differently.
And when I treat her differently, that 5 % keeps
shrinking. What's your situation? What relationship,
what issue in your life are you constantly focusing
on what you don't have instead of thanking God
for what you do have? The Apostle Paul says,
if you want to experience contentment, it is
well with your soul, practice number one, be
grateful. Second, secret to contentment dispels
the myth that contentment is a future event.
Somehow in America and multiple places around
the world, we think there's some future event,
not just a win then, but it's sort of like there's
a lotto out there. The lotto might be a person.
The lotto might be the actual lotto, and I'm
going to get $35 billion zillion. But there's
this event, and when it occurs, ah. Notice what
the Apostle Paul says. Principle number two,
contentment is an attitude we learn, not a thing
that we achieve. You say, well, where do you
get that? Well, look at verse 11, I have learned.
Look at verse 12, I have learned. You might circle
those if you haven't. Contentment is not out
there, external. Contentment is God doing something
in you, through you, so it's in here. Epicurus
said, to him who little is not enough, nothing
is enough. The practice, be teachable. You know,
if you really want to learn to ride the bicycle
of contentment as a way of life, you learn to
practice gratefulness, thankfulness, and then
be teachable. Ask God what he wants you to learn
in your present circumstance instead of telling
God what you want him to change. Wouldn't it
be interesting if we put a little recorder under
your pillow or some place where you pray if you
pray out loud? Or we could record your mind and
we could listen to your prayers, my prayers.
I wonder how many of our prayers are totally
about, God, I want you to change my boss. I want
you to change my wife. Actually, I'd like to
change something because I don't have a wife.
I want you to change this. I want you to change
that. I want you to change this about me. I want
you to change this about that. God, here's your
agenda. I know you're the great self -help genie,
and your whole goal of being the creator of all
that there is is to make me happy, fulfilled,
warm, and fuzzy every day in every way. So here's
my list. Take care of it, will you? See, unconsciously,
that's the lie we've believed. People that are
content first say, thank you, Lord. Not pie in
the sky. Thank you, God. It's hard. It's difficult.
I don't like it, but I choose to say thank you.
And then they're teachable. God, because of these
circumstances, what do you want to teach me?
Instead of asking you to do something out there,
what is it you want me to learn? This is Living
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. And you've been
listening to part one of Chip's message, In Difficult
Circumstances, from our series, I Choose Peace.
Chip will be back shortly to share some helpful
application for us to think about. What does
it mean to be at peace? Is it having a thriving
career, happy household, financial security?
While many strive for these goals, they often
bring only short -term satisfaction, leaving
us seeking more. In this 12 -part study in Philippians
chapter 4, Chip explains where this attitude
of discontentment comes from and the ways it
steals our peace. Stay with us to learn how to
move beyond temporary calmness and develop a
lasting peace -centered life that comes from
God. If you've missed any part of this series,
catch up anytime at livingontheedge .org or wherever
you listen to podcasts. Well, before we go any
further in this program, here's Chip. I'll be
right back in just a minute to give some final
application to today's message. But I just want
you to know that peace is possible. And I don't
mean just circumstance get better or some of
your dreams come true. The peace of God. is a
part of the Spirit of God living inside of you.
And I think we're settling for far too little
instead of gaining all God wants us to have.
We tend to redefine peace as I finally meet the
right person or I have enough money or I got
a new car or my life's working right now. And
we go from sort of circumstance to circumstance
and things are kind of hard and I lose my peace
and then things are great and I feel peace. Here's
what I want you to know. Life will always have
its ups and downs. But God is teaching us in
this series that His peace can be yours. A calm,
a serenity, regardless of circumstance. And the
book that I wrote from this series, I Choose
Peace, is how you can have calm in the midst
of stress and anxiety and the demands of this
world. I want to encourage you to get a copy
of this book and read through it slowly, or better
yet, at the end of each chapter, there's some
questions. You could discuss it with a friend
or with your mate or get four or five people
together and say, hey, let's go through this
together. Your peace matters to God. It's not
elusive. It's not out there. God has provided
it, but you need to learn how to access it. And
I Choose Peace is the doorway for you to experience
it on a regular basis. Good word, Chip. Well,
to learn more about this practical and insightful
resource, visit livingontheedge .org or call
888 -333 -6003. If you're desperate to quiet
the worries of your heart and the anxieties of
this world and experience genuine peace, you
got to check out this book. So go to livingontheedge
.org or call 888 -333 -6003 to get your copy
of I Choose Peace. special offers. With that,
here's Chip to share a few final words for us
to think about. As we wrap up today's teaching,
I want to begin practicing with you the process
where you'll learn to be content in every circumstance.
There's two practices that I've learned over
the years. In fact, I learned them from the Apostle
Paul. And number one is to be grateful. I mean,
this isn't something that, you know, I learned
once and I put in a message. This morning, the
Lord awakened me very early. I have a lot on
my plate. You know, all that jumbling in your
mind, demands, right? And I opened my journal,
and I just started thinking, okay, God, I want
to thank you for. And then I listed a moment
my wife and I had yesterday. Then I listed a
little time with my son and my granddaughter.
And then some staff members who were just so
gracious. But it was just thank you, thank you,
thank you, thank you. And I put a little star
by each one of them. And what I want you to know
is the jumbled emotions began to settle. As I'm
grateful for what I have, as I'm grateful and
look at that through the lens of gratitude, it's
amazing what God does in your heart. The second
step that we learned is be teachable. In other
words, when you're going through difficulty and
when you don't understand things or when you're
frustrated or even when you're angry at someone,
here's the question, Lord, What do you want to
teach me in this? Show me how you want me to
respond instead of, God, I want you to do this.
God, I want you to do that. God, I want you to
do this. And if you don't do that, if you can
surrender that demanding spirit and ask him for
help. As we learn to choose peace, we do some
positive things, gratefulness, teachability.
Then we eliminate some negative things. Too much
TV, Netflix, and social media. See if the Spirit
of God doesn't use that starting today to bring
you peace. Really timely advice and challenge,
Chip. Thanks. Just before we close, I quickly
want to thank those of you who regularly give
to Living on the Edge. You're making a big difference
in helping Christians live like Christians. But
if you're benefiting from our ministry and haven't
started giving yet, let me encourage you to join
the Living on the Edge team. You can do that
by setting up a recurring donation at livingontheedge
.org or by calling us at 888 -333 -6003. Again,
that's 888 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge
.org. App listeners, tap donate. And thanks for
doing whatever the Lord leads you to do. Thank
you for listening to this edition of Living on
the Edge with Chip Ingram. Next time we'll continue
Chip's series, I Choose Peace. I'm Dave Drewy
and I hope you'll join us then.