If it could only be funny. The great toilet paper crisis of 2020. I remember the gas shortages when I was a kid. Just a few years ago there was an ammunition shortage. You couldn’t get 22 ammo or any other kind either for quite a while. And, what did come available was priced accordingly.
Store shelves are bare and families are unable to get their hands on basic supplies. With necessities long taken for granted hard to come by, a soul gets to thinking. I won’t even voice my thoughts for fear they would instigate more fear.
It’s easy to be content when we have everything we need. It’s still easy when it isn’t difficult to get our comforts satisfied. However, some things are difficult right now. And when times are hard, it’s time to reflect. And, I do that best with my Bible…
Philippians 4:10-13 (NLT) How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 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. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 has been used as a promise for everything imaginable. Touchdowns, three-point shots, endurance races, difficult times, and on the list goes. But a simple consideration of the context quickly reveals the primary interpretation. This verse teaches that Christ will empower us to be content. Another way to consider it is to say, “Contentment is supernatural in origin.” Contentment comes from Heaven, not Earth.
That changes my perspective. It also changes my inner voice. No longer am I chiding myself for being discontented. Now is time to turn to God for a power that is not within me. The power to be okay, maybe even happy, with what I have, where I am, and what is going on.
That eternal optimist “the preacher” captures our plight quite well in Ecclesiastes 1:8.
Ecclesiastes 1:8 (NLT) Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.
We see a lot of situations developing around us. People are not content. They are frightened, angry, isolated, and pretty grumpy overall. But, we don’t have to be. We have a source most do not possess. We have access to the Holy Spirit. Our invite into the Mission Control of the Universe still stands. We couldn’t be separated from our Father God if we wanted to be. So, let’s tap into the power that is ours. Let’s embrace real wealth, real love, and real hope.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NLT) Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
The news is going to be worrisome. It always has been, so I don’t see that changing. It’s time to deal with your thinking. Let God transform your mind. When He does, you will see that we don’t depend upon earthly resources, but heavenly ones.
Stay STRONG! Don’t Lose HOPE! Give and Receive lots of GRACE!
Love, Micheal