The secret of being content!

So I guess I will finally venture into the realms of "blogging." Mind you I never got better than a 'B' on any substantial paper in my life, unless of course it was a group project and someone much smarter than myself was the primary editor, like my wife in PT School. None the less, I am excited to join the club. Rachel and I and the family still reside in Greenwood awaiting the sale of our house. I've never had to wait on the Lord to this extent before. Needless to say it's a new journey filled with many life lessons and emotions. I was really convicted, encouraged, and intrigued by a particular passage yesterday as I listened during the communion meditation at church. The scriptural reference was Philippians 4:10-13 and it was verse 12 that really hit me...'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.' As I processed this passage later that afternoon a few questions and thoughts surfaced in my mind. What does it mean to be content? Am I content or am I always wanting something more? Why is being content important in the kingdom of God? Two words really jumped off the page, "learned" and "secret." Paul says he "has learned" the secret of being content meaning that being content is not something we get with the wave of a magic wand. Rather, it is something that is learned over time through life's ever-changing circumstances. In addition, there is a "secret" to being content. What in the world is the secret? It seems as though Paul is saying that it took times of plenty and times of need to learn this secret of being content. Maybe through all of those circumstances, Paul began to focus less on the circumstances, which were always changing, and more on that which never changed, namely Jesus. Maybe the secret is that we learn to focus less on those things we can see and more on that which we can't see. Just a note, Paul was in prison while writing this letter. So I feel kind of silly viewing this passage through the lenses of my house not selling but it's the reality of my present condition. I guess I am just asking that God uses my circumstances to teach me the secret of being content, namely that I stop focusing so much on whether or not my house is going to sell this week and start focusing on the spiritual formation into the image of Jesus. Unfortunately I can't do this on my own. Fortunately, I don't have to. For "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13).

God Bless,

Clint