Bible Study 5: Contentment in Suffering

5.1 Key themes⤒🔗

God works through suffering to make our contentment deeper and stronger.
From Paul’s example we learn four ways to find contentment in suffering:
1. See God’s grace in the suffering.
2. Serve God in your situation.
3. Focus on God’s kingdom.
4. Seek the good of others.

5.2 Philippians 1:12–18, 29–30←⤒🔗

^12. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:

^13. The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ,

^14. and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.

^15.Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

^16. The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.

^17. The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.

^18. What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

…

^29. For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,

^30. since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.

5.3 Contentment and suffering←⤒🔗

When things are going well, it is easy to be content. But when suffering comes, our contentment is tested. The good news is that God works through our suffering, to make our contentment deeper and stronger!

Our passage comes from the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Here he is speaking about his situation in prison. He is not complaining. He is telling the Philippians why he is content to be in prison.

Paul knows that he is not the only person who is suffering for his faith. The Philippians are also suffering. Some of their city’s leaders are making life very hard for them (Acts 16:9–40). That is why Paul says to them, “you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face” (verse 30 of our passage).

Every Christian will experience suffering in this world. We will experience the same suffering that other people experience: illness, poverty, the death of loved ones, and other disappointments. We will also experience persecution. Jesus warned us, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).

Just like Paul, we must “learn” to be content in times of suffering (Philippians 4:11). As we learn this, our contentment will grow deeper and stronger. We will find that God’s grace is truly enough for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So, how can we learn to be content in suffering? We can follow Paul’s example, and do these four things:

See God’s grace in the suffering.
Serve God in our situation.
Focus on God’s kingdom.
Seek the good of others.

5.4 See God’s grace in the suffering←⤒🔗

In verse 29 Paul tells the Philippians, “it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him.” The word “granted” means “given as a gift.”

These words may surprise you. How can suffering be a gift? Suffering is not good by itself. It is caused by the sin and evil in this world. It is not something that we would choose for ourselves.

But for Christians suffering is a gift, because God does many good things through our suffering. For example, God uses suffering to teach us to pray and trust in him (Psalm 30:6-8). He uses suffering to prepare us for heaven (Romans 1 Peter 1:6-7). Through our suffering he makes us more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29). Who would not want these things?

God also uses our suffering in the lives of other people. Because Paul was in prison, more people could hear the gospel and be saved (Philippians 4:22). Because of the suffering of the Philippians, it became clear to the world that they were true servants of God (Philippians 1:27-28).

When you suffer, try to see God’s grace in your suffering. With the help and comfort of the Holy Spirit, you can even learn to see your suffering as a gift from God!

5.5 Serve God in your situation←⤒🔗

Paul did not sit back and do nothing while he was in prison. He continued to preach the gospel to the people around him. When you are in a difficult situation, you may ask God to change your situation. But while you wait for God’s answer, do not sit back. Serve God! Remember that he has placed you in this situation for a reason.

5.6 Focus on God’s kingdom←⤒🔗

We can think about our suffering so much that we forget the most important thing: the kingdom of God. This is not what Paul did. Paul did not focus on his own plans, but on God’s plan. He knew that his “situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel” (verse 12). That is why he could rejoice.

There were people who preached the gospel because they wanted to bring Paul into even more trouble (verse 17). But Paul did not allow this to upset him. He knew that God was using even his enemies to spread the gospel! So, he still rejoiced.

Yes, we should tell God about our problems. We should bring all our sadness and our fears to him. But we should also go further. We should pray, as Jesus told us, “your kingdom come, your will be done…” (Matthew 6:10, NIV).

5.7 Seek the good of others←⤒🔗

No Christian stands on his own. We are part of a body of believers, the body of Christ. In this body we must “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). When you are suffering, you should ask other Christians to pray for you. And when you see good things in other Christians’ lives, you should rejoice with them.

While Paul was in prison, he was always thinking about his fellow believers (“the brothers and sisters”–verse 14). He was glad, because he knew that his example encouraged them. They saw that he was not afraid of persecution. This gave them more courage to speak the Word of God (verse 14).

When you go through suffering, trust that God is using it for good. Serve him in your situation. Focus on his kingdom and on what is best for other people. As you do these things, your contentment will grow and deepen–all to the glory of God.