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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)
::
We have the same conversation countless times every day.
“How are you?” we ask.
“Fine, just fine” (or some variation), most will say.
The more exuberant among us might say something like, “If I were any better, I’d be a twin!”
The steady ones reply, “Can’t complain.”
And those with a tale to tell, but who aren’t sure you’re ready to hear it, simply say, “Oh, you wouldn’t want to know.”
::
I heard a new one early Sunday morning as I finished checking out at the convenience store.
I picked up my change from the counter and fumbled with the icy cold can of Mountain Dew (always from a can) and Mickey’s Mini Donuts. (Yes, I know, the dried out little crusts covered with chocolate colored wax are as gag-worthy as you say, but they remain a sad, strange part of my Sunday morning routine.) I was distracted, mentally walking through the various tasks I had yet to complete for my Sunday School class and to set up the worship graphics while I chided myself for once again failing to to be better prepared (also a part of my Sunday morning routine).
The cashier’s voice cut into my self-absorbed thoughts as she spoke to the woman waiting patiently for me to pick up my stuff and move. “How are you doing today?”
“Well, I think I’m getting used to it,” the woman said.
I’m getting used to it.
::
My first thought was, “What a defeated thing to say.” It sounded depressed, as though she were thinking, “I can’t make it better, so I may as well just get used to it. I’ve given up.”
She sounded distinctly like someone who had thrown in the towel.
But as I carried my dried up little donuts to the car, I thought about it a little more. And I changed my mind. I decided this was not a dejected response but rather, an admirable perspective.
I don’t know what was happening in this nice woman’s life. She didn’t offer enough detail to know whether there was a particular difficult circumstance she was learning to get used to, or if she was speaking more generally. But either way, it occurred to me, she was learning to be content with whatever it was.
(At least that’s what I chose to believe was going on. See, I’m telling the story here, and I get to make stuff up when it’s necessary to get where we’re trying to go. But I’ll always kind of tip you off just in case you can’t tell when we move into the making stuff up realm.)
::
Being content, no matter what.
Paul said he’d learned the secret of this contentedness thing. He’d experienced life on both ends of the spectrum.
Having, not having.
Comfort, suffering.
Freedom, prison.
Food, hunger.
He’d seen it all. He’d had it all.
And come flogging or shipwreck, he’d learned the secret of being content.
He’d learned the secret of “getting used to it.”
::
It was a secret. A lesser known thing. Yet he discovered it, and once knowing, he was free to go about life being “used to it.”
This secret, this key that he was not born with but had to learn just like us, was knowing not only that he could be content, but also how he could be content. There are those who would say to Paul, “That’s fine for you. You’re an apostle. That’s why they call you Apostle Paul. You met Jesus Himself on your way to Damascus. You will always get these things better than us.”
And to those folks, us folks, Paul would say, “You can be content. You can learn the secret. The secret is that we can do everything through Jesus, who gives us the strength to do all kinds of things we think are outrageous.”
::
Being content is not impossible. But neither is it something we muscle.
“Getting used to it” is something that we can do, if we let Him do it in us.
What are you getting used to these days? What do you need from Him to help you get used to it?
::
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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)
We have the same conversation countless times every day.
“How are you?” we ask.
“Fine, just fine” (or some variation), most will say.
The more exuberant among us might say something like, “If I were any better, I’d be a twin!”
The steady ones reply, “Can’t complain.”
And those with a tale to tell, but who aren’t sure you’re ready to hear it, simply say, “Oh, you wouldn’t want to know.”
::
I heard a new one early Sunday morning as I finished checking out at the convenience store.
I picked up my change from the counter and fumbled with the icy cold can of Mountain Dew (always from a can) and Mickey’s Mini Donuts. (Yes, I know, the dried out little crusts covered with chocolate colored wax are as gag-worthy as you say, but they remain a sad, strange part of my Sunday morning routine.) I was distracted, mentally walking through the various tasks I had yet to complete for my Sunday School class and to set up the worship graphics while I chided myself for once again failing to to be better prepared (also a part of my Sunday morning routine).
The cashier’s voice cut into my self-absorbed thoughts as she spoke to the woman waiting patiently for me to pick up my stuff and move. “How are you doing today?”
“Well, I think I’m getting used to it,” the woman said.
I’m getting used to it.
::
My first thought was, “What a defeated thing to say.” It sounded depressed, as though she were thinking, “I can’t make it better, so I may as well just get used to it. I’ve given up.”
She sounded distinctly like someone who had thrown in the towel.
But as I carried my dried up little donuts to the car, I thought about it a little more. And I changed my mind. I decided this was not a dejected response but rather, an admirable perspective.
I don’t know what was happening in this nice woman’s life. She didn’t offer enough detail to know whether there was a particular difficult circumstance she was learning to get used to, or if she was speaking more generally. But either way, it occurred to me, she was learning to be content with whatever it was.
(At least that’s what I chose to believe was going on. See, I’m telling the story here, and I get to make stuff up when it’s necessary to get where we’re trying to go. But I’ll always kind of tip you off just in case you can’t tell when we move into the making stuff up realm.)
::
Being content, no matter what.
Paul said he’d learned the secret of this contentedness thing. He’d experienced life on both ends of the spectrum.
Having, not having.
Comfort, suffering.
Freedom, prison.
Food, hunger.
He’d seen it all. He’d had it all.
And come flogging or shipwreck, he’d learned the secret of being content.
He’d learned the secret of “getting used to it.”
::
It was a secret. A lesser known thing. Yet he discovered it, and once knowing, he was free to go about life being “used to it.”
This secret, this key that he was not born with but had to learn just like us, was knowing not only that he could be content, but also how he could be content. There are those who would say to Paul, “That’s fine for you. You’re an apostle. That’s why they call you Apostle Paul. You met Jesus Himself on your way to Damascus. You will always get these things better than us.”
And to those folks, us folks, Paul would say, “You can be content. You can learn the secret. The secret is that we can do everything through Jesus, who gives us the strength to do all kinds of things we think are outrageous.”
::
Being content is not impossible. But neither is it something we muscle.
“Getting used to it” is something that we can do, if we let Him do it in us.
What are you getting used to these days? What do you need from Him to help you get used to it?
::
2009/02/26 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Contentedness | 1 Comment »
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future. (Ecclesiastes 7:14)
::
Calvin and Hobbes cartoons have always had me rolling on the floor. Recently I discovered a website listing Calvin and Hobbes quotes. The cartoons aren’t there, just the quotes. It’s like reading through philosophy class. The Calvin conversations stand up remarkably well even without the little characters nearby.
I ran across this one which seemed to fit well with the verse of the day that popped up on my iGoogle homepage yesterday. Calvin’s dad said, “The world isn’t fair, Calvin.”
Calvin replied, “I know. But why isn’t it ever unfair in my favor?”
::
Seems we know that life isn’t fair. We tell people that, especially our kids, all the time. We even believe it ourselves sometimes.
But isn’t there a little Calvin in us too? We wonder why we can’t be on the other end of the unfairness just once in a while.
In his endless – and seemingly fruitless – quest for meaning, Solomon came to the conclusion that there would be good times and there would be bad times. So he encouraged us to make the most of the good times, but keep in mind that the bad times would come as well. Life is made up of both. The Message translation puts it this way: “On a good day, enjoy yourself; on a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted.”
Centuries later, Paul encouraged the believers at Philippi to be content no matter the circumstance, whether life seemed fair or unfair. He told them, “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.” (Philippians 4:12)
::
If you’re like me, fairness or unfairness isn’t the biggest question. What tears us apart instead is just wanting to understand it.
Wanting to make sure the uncertain.
Wanting to nail down Jell-O.
Solomon has a word for us on that as well. Try as we might, we just won’t get it. We won’t figure it out. We weren’t meant to. The New American Standard Bible finishes that verse this way, “so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.”
I figure God already knows that the more I think I comprehend, the less I sense my need to trust.
::
Life’s not fair.
And sometimes we just won’t understand.
I’m learning to live with this.
::
When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, a man cannot discover
anything about his future. (Ecclesiastes 7:14)
Calvin and Hobbes cartoons have always had me rolling on the floor. Recently I discovered a website listing Calvin and Hobbes quotes. The cartoons aren’t there, just the quotes. It’s like reading through philosophy class. The Calvin conversations stand up remarkably well even without the little characters nearby.
I ran across this one which seemed to fit well with the verse of the day that popped up on my iGoogle homepage yesterday. Calvin’s dad said, “The world isn’t fair, Calvin.”
Calvin replied, “I know. But why isn’t it ever unfair in my favor?”
::
Seems we know that life isn’t fair. We tell people that, especially our kids, all the time. We even believe it ourselves sometimes.
But isn’t there a little Calvin in us too? We wonder why we can’t be on the other end of the unfairness just once in a while.
In his endless – and seemingly fruitless – quest for meaning, Solomon came to the conclusion that there would be good times and there would be bad times. So he encouraged us to make the most of the good times, but keep in mind that the bad times would come as well. Life is made up of both. The Message translation puts it this way: “On a good day, enjoy yourself; on a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted.”
Centuries later, Paul encouraged the believers at Philippi to be content no matter the circumstance, whether life seemed fair or unfair. He told them, “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.” (Philippians 4:12)
::
If you’re like me, fairness or unfairness isn’t the biggest question. What tears us apart instead is just wanting to understand it.
Wanting to make sure the uncertain.
Wanting to nail down Jell-O.
Solomon has a word for us on that as well. Try as we might, we just won’t get it. We won’t figure it out. We weren’t meant to. The New American Standard Bible finishes that verse this way, “so that man will not discover anything that will be after him.”
I figure God already knows that the more I think I comprehend, the less I sense my need to trust.
::
Life’s not fair.
And sometimes we just won’t understand.
I’m learning to live with this.
::
2009/02/12 | Categories: Jesus is Enough | Tags: Calvin and Hobbes, Contentedness, Trust | 1 Comment »
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