I am not saying this because I am in need, for 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, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.   Phil 4:11-12 (NIV)

Contented Always Is it really possible for the average person to be truly content in any and all situations? This is a tall order. It's akin to walking on water, at least for many. Part of the problem is that we have this need/desire to look at our feet, and that's not a good thing. God promises to make our feet as sure as a deer's feet: He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights. Psa 18:33 (NRSV) GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights. Hab 3:19a (NRSV) But, you see, God gives us those feet but then he also then puts us in a high place and says, basically, "Now walk." Start looking at your feet you're bound to stumble (I have spent a lot of time on my knees for this particular failing, I might add). Keeping your face always toward God is really difficult. It's so hard, when the world around you seems to be coming apart... or even when it's not coming apart, but it's just, say, really boring and stagnant, or even when it's very appealing and bright and distracting (different things for different people). It's just like Peter on the water (Matthew 14:30). Take your eyes off the Lord and down you go. Luckily, Christ is always there to grab us up again. Learning to walk on faith in high places can take an awful lot of trials... And some of us are way more stubborn than others, and we take a lot longer to figure this out. God has provided for us, he provides for us now, and he will continue to provide for us in the future. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Mat 6:25 (NRSV) The Bible is just full of places which speak of God testing us, putting us "through the flames" to purify and cleanse us. One of my favorite verses is this: He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. John 15:2 (NRSV) Pruning can be difficult when you are the branch! If you're having bits of yourself removed or re-formed, it's painful sometimes. I don't imagine trees like being pruned or that clay (if it had feelings) would enjoy being pounded and shaped and formed. If we can just keep our faces to the light and know that the Master Potter knows what he's doing (even when it hurts for a while) and that we are being pruned because we are fruitful, it goes a long way toward our contentment. The state of mind from which Paul wrote, when he had come to the place where he was "always content," takes a long time and a lot of dedication to reach. And remember, Paul got the heck beat out of him all the time, was shipwrecked, imprisoned, and suffered all manner of ills (2 Cor 11:23-33 (NRSV)). I would guess that after all those calamaties, Paul had just seen and experienced enough that he knew that he knew that he knew that it was all in God's hands. Do note that in those verses from Phillipians 4, Paul says very clearly that he had learned how to be content, and learning is a process which can be lengthy, depending on the difficulty of the lesson for the particular student. Striving toward this place from which Paul wrote is a worthy goal. Don't be too surprised if you find you stumble often; it's a difficult road and the moment we take our eyes off of God, we're in trouble. I also think that the closer we get to a solid, productive walk, the more the Adversary attacks us. Dodging those firey darts ( Ephesians 6:16 ) can be tiring and and can distract us dreadfully, and make us lose all persepective. I do know and believe that God really, really does know what he's doing. Sometimes we'd sure like to be in on it, though. Still, even when we do think we have a handle on the situation, we're not always content. Here's an analogy: God's the parent, driving the car. I'm a little child, sitting in the car saying, every five minutes "Where are we going? When do we get there? Are we there yet? Tell me! I need to know!" Of course, I don't actually need to know (I just want to). Point is, if one of my children did that to me, I'd tell them just what God says to us sometimes: Be still and let me drive. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Prov 3:5-6 So on this topic of being contented always, there is much to say, and I have lots of ways to say it, because it's something I have struggled with for a long time. What it all comes down to is that coming to that place where you can rest and ride it out, content that things are unfolding as they should takes a great deal of time and no small amount of effort. Take heart, though. If Paul, self-described as "the greatest of sinners" and a man who endured a tremendous amount of pain and difficulty could reach that place, by the grace of God, so can we. New Main Menu About Contact General Writings Index

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."   Psalms 46:10 (NIV)
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