Your Daily Devotional for June 10, 2006

June 10, 2006

 

The School of Contentment

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

 

Philippians 4:10-13

 

In our text, Paul is writing to the church of Philippi. The Philippian church had been blessed by the ministry of the Apostle Paul and had been a recipient of his love and teaching. Consequently, as Paul went on to do continue his missionary work, the church supported him. As Paul wrote, he was thanking this local church for their care and realized that they wanted to give sooner but did not have the opportunity. Paul was thanking them but said, very frankly, that whether he received an offering or not, he has learned to be content.

 

It has been said that salvation is the miracle of a moment, but spiritual maturity is the process of a lifetime. Maybe that is why I usually appreciate the words of the Apostle Paul when he says in verse 11, “I have learned.” Here is a great man of God, an overseer of the early New Testament churches, the writer of much of the New Testament books, saying that he had to be taught something. I am glad that I am not the only one that still needs to go back to “school” once in a while.

 

If we could interview the Apostle Paul and say, “Tell us, where have you learned these great spiritual truths? Where did you find such spiritual strength and fortitude? Was it at the school of Gamiliel? Was it at some political school or some other school of higher education?” I believe the Apostle Paul would tell us that he learned this at the school of contentment, where the “curriculum” consisted of trials and setbacks.

 

Just as Paul learned contentment through affliction and need, God wants to enrich our lives through the trials we are experiencing today. Whether it is physical or financial, the trials of life are not a series of accidents but of divine appointments. The Bible says in Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”

 

I read recently of golf pro Paul Azinger, a tremendous golfer who had won many tournaments and earned millions of dollars. Paul seemed to have everything desirable in life, until cancer set in. Soon, this tall, handsome man began loosing his hair, strength, and weight. Weakened by cancer and treatments, he couldn’t keep a ball going down the fairway at the Skins game and soon found himself in a hospital room, undergoing month after month of chemotherapy. It was at that moment in Paul Azinger’s life that he came to Jesus Christ and learned what it meant to be content.

 

Have you experienced a trial recently? Are you experiencing one today? Allow the Lord to be your needed recourse in life. Enroll today in the school of contentment, and let the Holy Spirit work in your heart. When you do, you will be able to say with the same assurance of the Apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

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