Hi, there, Wednesday! How is everyone this week? I have to say I’m suffering from a bit of jealousy. The heat index was 85 at 5:45 this morning. The humidity hovered around 9,000% all day. My classroom was a temperature close to surface-of-the-sun. And my dear Tennessee friends were bragging on Facebook about their 65-degree weather. Is it possible God totally understands my raging jealousy over their coffee-friendly weather? I sure hope so.
So, this week we take a look at Philippians and, next week? Colossians. Y’all ready to dive in?
Philippians 4:11b (NIV)–I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
Let me tell you something… When you finally grasp God’s great gift of contentment, it changes your entire life. There is joy in looking around you, taking a deep breath, and saying, “Okay, this is where I am. Forget what I don’t have, focus on what there is right here.” That’s when you start to find the greatest joy, the best of life, the beauty in “the little things.” (That, by the way, is one of my favorite sayings. “It’s the little things.” Whenever my husband deployed, it was a daily mantra. Let me tell you, I could get excited for hours by the fact that Borders finally had pumpkin spice lattes on the cafe’ menu.)
We have a choice every day. Our circumstances are what they are. (That’s another fave saying, by the way. “It is what it is.”) No amount of whining will change anything. No amount of wishing for more stuff will change anything. We are where we are with what we have. We can complain and grasp for more, or we can look around and figure out why we’re here. We can be frustrated by the fact that our car isn’t as nice as Joe’s down the street, or we can revel in the clumsily cut-out cross our daughter made in Bible school, the one that is so cute hanging from the rearview mirror. This is how I choose to live, seeking the little things, finding the beauty right where I am…
Living in the moment, the place, the opportunity God has settled in front of me.
How about you?
-JB
Dawn Lucowitz says
Philippians definitely contains some of my favorite verses; a few of them totally inspired me during my half marathon training last year. The verse I chose to share is one that I really need to focus on way more in my life. Philippians 2:14-16 – Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.
I can’t tell you how often I complain about anything and everything. I don’t always do everything with a happy heart and glorifying God all the way through. Many times I find myself not only complaining, but whining …how annoying! I love the reminder here that we are to do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing. I’m sure my mother wishes she knew the bible a little better while I was growing up. This one would have come in handy on more than a few occasions.
I love that this verse continues. God didn’t just say don’t argue or complain because “I said so.” Which, he totally could have done here. He tells us so that we can be pure. That we can be God’s children and that this is going to help set us apart from those who don’t believe in God. This is going to help us shine like stars in the universe. I am so drawn to the ideas of God’s light lately and how we are to let it shine. Now that I live as close to the middle of nowhere as I ever have, star references are so much more powerful to me. To look up at the stars on a clear night without all the lights to take away from how bright they are is amazing.
I love that this is a verse that I can and will truly meditate on a lot more.
Sandy Rosser says
Sometimes when circumstances are uncomfortable or painful, I bow my head and pray, “This too shall pass.” I know that I will grow through the pain. This past year I found strength in myself (through God) that I thought I’d lost for years. Kelly’s leukemia brought out my survival instincts and even when it was hard I found peace and embraced that circumstance. It reminds me that circumstances may affect my happiness but by being content in every circumstance, nothing cn take my JOY!
Jodie says
AMEN!!! There is a HUGE difference between happiness and joy. HUGE. Emotions are volatile, but gifts from God are steady and powerful, aren’t they?