CONFIDENT CONTENTMENT -- Devotional for February 8, from "Good Seeds"

NOTE TO READERS: I'VE EDITED THIS DEVOTIONAL TO FIT THE 500 WORD (ONE PAGE) LIMIT. YOU'LL FIND THE SUBJECT CONTINUED IN THE FEB 12 ENTRY. BLESSINGS!

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am...I can do all things through Him who strengthens me...and God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. (Philippians 4:11,13,19)

A friend of mine in Bible College used to love to quote this verse, with a little addendum: "I have learned to be content in whatever state I am, as long as it's Florida!" It was his lifelong dream to start an orphanage in that “state.” He wanted to help kids, but he wanted to do it in style! (By the way, he never made it to Florida, but he didn’t do so bad serving as a missionary in Portugal!) This little Bible misquote describes most of us: happy enough to accept our lot in life, as long as we can insert certain parameters. But the apostle Paul would disagree, saying rather that we must "bloom wherever we are planted," regardless of geography or circumstances. Bloom is a good word here, for it implies thriving, not just surviving! But genuine contentment has a divine element. Oh, we can buck up and endure for awhile, but apart from heavenly resources, we'll eventually break. If we depend on man (ourselves or others) we get what man can do; but if we depend on God, we get what God can do! Or, to say it in another way, “Look to man and you'll feel resentment; but look to God and you'll find contentment." As much as he suffered loss and experienced persecution and endured a steady stream of God’s surprises, the apostle Paul mastered the art of contentment. And he passes the secret on to us in the last half of chapter 4 of the letter he wrote from prison. First, he gives his testimony: "You may think of me as a very hurting and needy person. Well, although my circumstances would certainly support such a conclusion, actually I'm doing just fine, and I'm quite happy pretty much all the time!" It's not that Paul wasn't grateful for the help he had recently received from caring friends, but he recognized that all the good that came to him was ultimately from the Lord. While our thanks goes to others, our praise flows to God. Paul's testimony would sound more like a "bragimony" if it were not God’s strength that he was leaning on, and not his own – so it was God he was bragging on, not himself. And we can say it, too: "Don't think I'm so great, and yet, you can safely follow my example of trusting God for everything -- because HE'S so great!" We, like Paul, must learn to give credit where credit is due: "My power for living well in any and every circumstance doesn't come from within but from without, for I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST!" My confidence is in Christ – and in Him I am content!