If I could be so bold to also add, the verse is about not just being joyful and satisfied when life is hard, but also when life is
easy<\/em>, when everything is going your way. Paul says he’s learned the secret of being content in “plenty<\/em> and want.” If we try to find meaning and happiness apart from God, we’re fighting a losing battle. It’s extraordinarily traumatic to accomplish all your goals and then realize you’re still not content. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus gets it right when he says, “Some say the bitterest sorrow a man can know is to aspire to do much and to do little. Not so. The bitterest sorrow a man can know is to aspire to do much, to do it, and then to discover it was not worth doing.” What can fill that void? Paul has a secret to tell you.<\/div>\n