Is dead.
That's right beloved. As Don
Henley once wrote, you don't see any hearses with luggage racks. We are filling
up our temporal existence while ignoring our eternal realities. We must believe
that God is all we need in every situation -- then He will be our portion. Then
our hope will be firmly rooted in Him. The Apostle Paul figured the secret out:
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with
whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I
have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full
stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For
I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in
my present difficulty. -- Philippians 4: 11-14 (NLT)
Philippians 4: 13 is one of the
most misused Scriptures in the Bible. People use it to try and do all sorts of
things they do not have the capacity to do. Remember the Bible says that while
all things are permissible, not everything is beneficial. No, these verses are
dealing with contentment in every situation of life. Paul had discovered the
secret to making sure God was his portion, regardless of his circumstances. No
matter what was happening in the temporal to Paul, he was able to be content
because of his eternal hope in his God. And let us not forget that Paul did not
exactly have a care free existence:
Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I
was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I
spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I
have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from
robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the
Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas.
And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless
nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have
shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. -- 2Corinthians
11: 24-27 (NLT)
We tend to complain if someone is
sitting in our pew! The point here is that to Paul, the only thing that
mattered was God. His hope was not in anything this world has to offer because
the Lord truly was his portion. That is where we need to aspire to reach. Where
is our hope today? Not just when we are doing the Sunday hallelujah hop but on
Wednesday when our life shipwrecks us. Are we equally content in both
situations? Dear God we need to learn to appreciate what the Lord has given us
while we have it. Appreciate your job and the ability to provide for your
family. Appreciate your spouse. Appreciate your pastor and your church (don't
worship them). Don't seek your portion and hope in this fading world, in mere
humans, or in our frail selves. There is contentment available to us as
believers in Christ. There is power to walk over our situations. There is the
transcendent peace that only comes from residing under the shadow of the
Almighty. We do not have to live a life that is in constant turmoil and
uncertainty. Not when we serve the Rock of Ages. Taking life's lashes with joy
requires being satisfied with God being enough for us in this life. Being
shipwrecked against the shores of this world while maintaining our peace and
contentment requires us to hope in the only one that answers every hope we can
ever imagine. The sufficient portion of our lives. Where is your hope today?
Reverend
