Deadlines..huh

I managed to send my completed Encounter bible notes to my editor yesterday!  So having a deadline did concentrate the mind. I found, as I have experienced before, that when you prayerfully open Scripture intent on hearing a fresh word, fresh spiritual things happen to me. At several points I was ministered to even while I was seeking to minister to others.

For example, and it was a surprise, I was reading the last section of Philippians (4: 10-23). Right at its heart one serene claims shines out of these verses. You should have no difficulty imagining how difficult and frustrating Paul's life in prison. Earlier in the letter he writes about facing an unknown future and being harmed by jealous preachers. He has lacked basic needs. Hunger and want have stalked him and he has been let down by all the churches except the Philippians. (That's why he is especially grateful to them in this letter). It sounds like he has much to be discontented about!  Discontentment is defined 'as a lack of satisfaction with one's possessions, status or situation.' That would seem to sum up Paul's condition.

Yet he can make the claim that he has learned the secret of being content in any and every situation (verse 12).  Can he really claim this? We can only begin to understand his experience when we see he describes it as a secret. It is only disclosed to those who depend completely on a rich relationship with Jesus. Only by knowing Jesus as Lord and Saviour, belonging to him completely, can there be the genuine possibility of contentment. Paul is given strength to live positively (verse 13) and because belonging to Jesus also means belonging to his family of believers the practical care of the Philippian church has particularly brought comfort.  Their generosity and kindness has kept his discomfort to a minimum. 

This strength that allows contentment is peculiar to the Christian faith. You cannot underestimate the 'satisfaction' of belonging to Jesus and an active Christian family. While I was writing this down I was struck by the relevance of this claim to my own situation. ( As an author you are warned to be careful about making too many personal points!)  But I had to add that in my situation my wife is bedridden with me attempting to cope as a sole carer. Yet I can testify that the love and practical care of my local church with worship and prayer has brought a real measure of contentment. I am only in the foothills of experiencing the height of being content in any and every situation but I commit myself to learning more of the secret of being content in Jesus.