Wednesday, November 13, 2024

November 13, 2024

Philippians  4.11, 12 (NIV)
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.
This is the most dangerous trial of all, when there is no trial and everything goes well; for then a man is tempted to forget God, to become too bold and to misuse times of prosperity.*
I have never actually been in need - only in the opposite of “in plenty.” Was I content during those times? Not so much. But I had to trust God to provide because there was nothing else I could do. In this verse, however, Paul is not talking about “stoical indifference to prosperity or adversity.”* 

Somewhere I read that the word “content” was equivalent to “contained,” as in a person whose resources are within him. That may be what “content” looks like but none of us is truly self-sufficient. We cannot find contentment until we are surrendered to God’s control. Only then will we be satisfied with a little and not spoiled by a lot.

If I am ever called to walk the path of "not in plenty" again, I pray that my faith is strong enough to endure it; that my years of "more than enough" haven’t weakened my faith in God’s provision; and that my circumstances will never determine my attitude.*  It has been my experience that I can’t be content until I choose to be.  
Our self-proclaimed right to the “pursuit of happiness” sometimes gets in the way of realizing we have enough.*

No comments:

Post a Comment