LifeLink Devotions for Friday, September 6, 2024

Abraham’s faith was a work in progress. It was growing and being challenged to continue to grow, just as ours is every day. Faith grows every time we take another step of faith. No step of faith is the last one, but each step of faith leads to a greater one. Abraham demonstrated his desire to trust God for everything as we saw yesterday, and now God asks him to take yet another and even bigger step of faith.

In Genesis 15:1 God speaks to Abraham and says that He is his very great reward. Abraham hears this and his faith is challenged. Abraham is very wealthy already. He has a huge household of people serving him. He is in possession of a great land, and his fame is spreading. He has flocks and herds and camels and lacks nothing. But Abraham also understands that the heritage of future generations is the greatest reward any person can possess. This is obvious from his question back to God which is, “What can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abraham knew that if he had no descendants he had no real reward.

Let me ask you at this point – where is your treasure? Jesus said that wherever your treasure is, that is where your heart is. Is your treasure in what you have or accomplish or is it in the people to whom you model true faith? Possessions cannot pass on heritage. Only people can! Put your heart into people, especially your family, and pass on the heritage of faith.

Back to the story: God gives Abraham more details of His incredible promise. God says that Abraham will have a son, and that through this son Abrahams offspring will become as numerous as the stars in the heavens. This is extrememly significant. God’s earlier promise to Abraham in Genesis 13, following the split with Lot and Abraham’s choice to trust God for his material rewards, was that his descendants would be as numerous as the dust  (or sand) of the earth. In his early stages of faith, Abraham needed to see things from a worldly, horizontal perspective. Isn’t it great that God understands the growing needs of our faith and meets us where we are to give us what we need to grow? Maybe right now in your life your faith is still small and all you can see is the world’s perspective. God will meet you there but be prepared – He will not leave you there. As Abraham’s faith grew, God asked him to change his perspective from looking at the world’s view to seeing a heavenly view. Abraham’s significant step of faith was to hear God say, “Look up, don’t look around.”

I believe that is the step of faith many of us need to take today. Stop looking around for the fulfillment of life and the greatest reward: look up with the eyes of faith and trust the Sovereign Lord. This is the first time in Scripture that anyone has called God Sovereign, and it is significant. Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed that God would accomplish His purpose, and even though he did not fully understand it, he surrendered to it, and God credited his faith as righteousness. Abraham did not work to receive righteousness; he believed the promise of a Son. It was more than a belief in a physical son named Isaac who would be born. By looking up Abraham saw the spiritual heritage that he would be given when the Son, Jesus Christ, would be born. Abraham’s reward was the spiritual understanding of God’s eternal purpose for man. He could not receive that reward by looking around: he looked up.

My friends, it is time for us to experience the fullness of God’s spiritual reward for our lives by looking up instead of looking around. It is time for us to take the next step of growing faith and surrender to the Sovereign One so that the spiritual overwhelms the sensual. This will eliminate the need for knowing and seeing and will solidify the reality of trusting. Will you take that step today? If you do, you will soon be saying, “Things are looking up!”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, September 5, 2024

In our ongoing saga of the life of Abraham, from which we are learning great lessons in faith, Abraham has become very established in the land of promise and has grown in wealth and power. Lot has moved from his tents on the outskirts of Sodom to living in the city.  He is captured in a war with neighboring territories. When Abraham receives word that his nephew has been taken prisoner, he organizes a small army of 318 men from his household and pursued Lot’s captors. When he catches them, he routs them in a nighttime battle and recovers all the stolen property and the captured people. This was a great act of faith on Abraham’s part, to take 318 men into battle against five kings and their armies from their respective cities.  But there is an even greater act of faith to follow. We read about it in Genesis 14:17-20.

“After Abraham returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abraham, saying, “Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”  Then Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.”

On their way home, the King of Salem, now modern day Jerusalem, came out to meet Abraham. King Melchizedek held a dual office of king and priest of God Most High. He blessed Abraham and gave the glory for the victory to God. Then, in phase one of Abraham’s incredible act of faith, he gives Melchizedek one tenth of everything they had recovered in the war. Before there was any law that required tithing, from the love in his heart for God, Abraham gave a tenth of everything to the Lord. This is a great lesson for us today. We do not give to the Lord’s work because the law obligates us to: we give to the Lord because love motivates us – God’s love for us and our love for Him. If you wonder how much you should give, here is the starting point – 10% of everything you receive.

But that is not the end of Abraham’s faith in this story. The king of Sodom approaches Abraham and tries to bargain for the rest of the spoils, specifically for the people. This king was smart and knew that people were far more valuable than possessions, and people would generate greater wealth. He offers to let Abraham keep the material prizes in exchange for the people. But Abraham models incredible faith for us and says this, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abraham rich.’ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me-to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

WOW! Abraham’s faith was so strong that he gave everything away except his actual expenses and the fair share for his men. Abraham kept nothing for himself. Why? Because he never wanted any credit for his life to go to anyone but God. He trusted the promise of God so completely at this point in his life that he could give everything away and have complete confidence that God would continue to provide for him. Yes, Abraham still had great wealth and power, but it was all given to him by God and not by man.

 What a great lesson for us today – God alone is our provider. God alone receives the glory for what we have and what we accomplish. We will cease from our personal agendas, plans, pursuits, and power struggles, and relinquish everything to the promises of God. Let it never be said of our lives that anything of the world made us what we are. Let us raise our hand to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of the heaven and earth, and swear an oath to Him that we will accept no glory for ourselves from the world, nor will we allow the world to take any glory for who we are, what we have, or what we accomplish, and that all of the glory go to God alone. Let it be so!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, September 4, 2024

In today’s story of faith, we see yet another example of Abraham trusting God’s promises.

Genesis 13:5-11 “Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:”

Let’s learn a couple of lessons from this story:

1.      Lot was selfish. He had made the great journey from Ur to Canaan on Abraham’s bootstraps. He had gained his wealth and prominence by following Abraham. Yet when a problem developed, Lot showed no humility and gratitude, but rather took advantage of the situation to further his own objectives. In such a situation I would hope that we would respond with humility and faith in God’s ability to provide for us, rather than with self-serving responses.

2.      Abraham was a man of faith in God’s Word. He has just been through a learning experience in Egypt, and when he returned to Canaan he built an altar and called on the Name of the Lord. He was reminded of God’s promise and that he was to walk by faith every day, and he passed the first test that came with flying colors. He totally trusted God with the outcome and gives Lot the first choice of land for their flocks and herds. Following Lot’s choice, God affirmed His promise, and rewarded Abraham’s faith by giving him not only the land He was left with, but all of the land Lot had just chosen as well.

3.      Abraham was a content man in his faith. Lot chose city life, with all its pleasures and conveniences. Abraham was left with his tents. But immediately he built another altar to the Lord, content in knowing that God would fulfill His promise. The walk of faith would be exciting as he would move through the length and breadth of the land to experience the fullness of God’s provision, and he did not allow himself to be sidetracked by fleshly desires and worldly allures, as did Lot. When we are on God’s path of faith, moving through the entire coverage area of His provision, we can be content knowing that God is fulfilling His purpose.

These three lessons are great reminders for us in our current situations of life. In every circumstance there is the potential for faith-walking or sight-walking. Sight-walking is selfish and ends in destruction. Faith-walking is fulfilling and ends in honor and glory. Make your choices accordingly.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, September 3, 2024

As we look at the life of Abram and learn some great lessons on faith, we discover in the last portion of the twelfth chapter of Genesis that Abram had made a terrible mistake and done something by physical sight rather than spiritual faith. He saw a famine in the land, and how it would affect him, and he made a fleshly decision to move to Egypt. Along the way and while he was there one bad decision led to another and he got himself and his wife into serious trouble. His walk of faith quickly became a walk of sight and bad judgment. Whenever we walk by our sight we have only our wisdom to trust, and that inevitably leads to bad decisions and trouble because our wisdom is so limited, and our judgment is so flawed. It is only when we walk by faith in God’s wisdom that we experience the provisions that God promises.

At the end of his time in Egypt, Abram made a wise decision of faith.Genesis 13:1says, “So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.”

Notice the words at the beginning of this passage. “So Abram went up”. No greater words of encouragement can be found than these, for after a failure God provides a way to go up again. There is always a way back to the Promised Land of God’s blessing. The road back begins with humble honesty. Abram had to finally admit to Pharaoh what he had done, and when he did, he was sent on his way back to the land of blessing. Besides that, his honesty allowed him to keep all that he had acquired while he was there. Be careful here – don’t let Satan misuse this story to lead us into thinking that we can gain personal prosperity under false pretenses and then at the end admit the truth and keep all the gain. That would be arrogantly presumptuous of God’s holy character and justice. But in this case, God showed us that even in our moments of bad judgment and faithless decision-making, God is merciful and working to restore us to the land of blessing and accomplish His purpose in and through us. It all goes back to what we talked about yesterday – the original vision. God has not withdrawn it. We may have walked away from it, but God is working to complete the purpose in us to which we were called, and that means He helps us to go up again after we have gone down the wrong path.

What past failures and fears have led you down the wrong path and kept you from the land of blessing? Maybe you are still on that path and need to be humbly honest and repent and go up again on God’s path of faith. Maybe it is a path you took some time ago, but its effects have lingered on into today and hold you in a sort of faith-bondage. Maybe today is the day you step out in faith and go up again to accomplish God’s original vision for your life.

Mark this day on your calendar and write these words in your journal – “Today I went up from _____________ to _______________. (Fill in the blanks with where you have been and where God has called you, respectively.) Make this the day that is commemorated in your spiritual journey as the day you returned to a walk of faith.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, September 2, 2024

When we talk about real faith, we must be willing to grow in our understanding of what that is and move from a childish view to a mature view. I remember a discussion I had with a couple of respected brothers in the Lord and we agreed that the immature view is the predominate view in the church today. Now open your hearts and your minds and read carefully – the immature view of faith is that God opens and closes doors. When we are new followers of Jesus Christ God needs to be obvious, and opening and closing doors is a great way for us to learn dependence on God. But it is not the mature way. Let’s look at Abram’s story and discover this truth.

When God called Abram out of Mesopotamia to go to an unknown land, there were no open doors. It was not for any visible benefit that Abram made the decision to obey. He wasn’t given a series of choices and then told to test them all and see which door opens. God gave him only His direction and a promise of blessing. But when he arrived in the land to which God directed him, his faith changed: he began looking at doors again, and the results were destructive. Take the time to read Genesis 12:10-17 right now.  

God did not give Abram any direction to move to Egypt because of a famine. Abram saw what he interpreted to be a door closing and he looked for an open one. He took his eyes of faith off God’s original wisdom, and he made moves that hurt the accomplishment of God’s purpose. True faith looks only at the wisdom God has given and pursues it no matter what the obstacles.

We all long for the type of faith that trusts the Spirit of God to relate God’s specific direction to our spirit at the heart level. God longs to have that kind of mature relationship with each of us. But we keep looking for doors to open or close: circumstantial evidence to validate supernatural vision. Why do we do that? We may believe it brings security and peace to have “proven” the will of God by our own rational thought process. But the Word of God says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2) Eugene Peterson, in his modern day paraphrase of Scripture called The Message, says it this way – “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” God’s will – His direction and wisdom – is proven by steps of faith regardless of circumstances rather than an aligning of the circumstances before we take a step. 

When we step out onto the path of God’s direction to pursue the vision He has given us, it will not be without obstacles. There will be doors opened and doors closed. But let’s be very careful – not every open door is God’s door and not ever closed door is God’s redirection. The testing of our faith comes in the choice we make to keep our eyes of mature faith on the original direction and vision or return to the immaturity of door-testing faith.

But you may ask, how can we trust the original vision and direction we thought we heard? Was it really God speaking? Each one of us knows how much personal intimacy with God in prayer and fellowship preceded the hearing of His voice. God does not spontaneously speak to indifferent ears. When Noah heard God’s word to build an ark, he was first identified as a righteous and blameless man – intimate with God. When we are spending time with God, we grow familiar with the way His Spirit relates to our spirit, and we receive from the Spirit God’s direction. Now obey it regardless of circumstances until He gives new directions.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, August 30, 2024

When teaching about faith, the Bible uses Abram, later to be called Abraham, as the primary example. The New Testament writers refer to Abraham seventy-seven times to help us to understand what faith is. There are obviously some important lessons we can learn from this man’s life as we grow in our faith. 

At the beginning of the story of Abram in Genesis 12, we hear the voice of God speaking to Abram and asking him to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go to an unknown land.

Genesis 12:1-5 “The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth  will be blessed through you.” So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.”

Carefully reflect on all that God was asking Abram to do:

1.      Leave his homeland – I grew up leaving my homeland all the time. As a pastor’s son we moved every 4 –5 years on average. Leaving the beautiful state of Michigan in my 9^th grade year was supremely difficult. I am so glad to be living again in a land of such diversified beauty and outdoor activity. I know how hard it is to leave a geographic area that is loved as home.

2.      Leave his people – Those of you who have lived in one area all your life probably don’t have a good understanding of this. There really are different cultures out there, and you don’t have to go outside our country to find them. I discovered different cultures every time I crossed state lines, and it’s hard to adjust to them. Because we are relational beings, people bring us comfort. New people tend to scare us. Abram was asked to leave his relational comfort zone.

3.      Leave his father’s household – For me at this stage of my life right now, this would be the toughest of the three. Family means everything to me and having them nearby is very significant.

4.      Go to an unknown land – No maps, no web site to preview the housing options, no contacts with anyone who’s already been there, no knowledge of even where he is headed. Just a general direction.

As we reflect on those four issues that Abram had to deal with, I’m sure we can relate to at least one of them in our lives right now. God is giving us all daily direction, and I think we are all guilty of giving God daily guidelines for that direction. We state our cases and concerns before we listen to His course. We predetermine the parameters of a positive response to His position and purpose. “I’ll do it if I can do it from here.” “I’ll go only as far as this cultural border.” “I’ll go if my family can go with me.” I’ll go if you tell me where I am going.” 

We must ask ourselves if we are putting conditions on God’s commands. That is not wise, but foolish. It is not faith. I seriously want to emphasize this point to all of us. Faith in God does not ask for answers, nor does it foolishly protect personal preferences. If faith does those two things, then it is not faith in God but rather it is faith in human wisdom and personal preferences. Think about this carefully in light of your current life decisions. Are they being made in true faith in God alone?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, August 29, 2024

Our first example of faith and wisdom combining to accomplish the purpose of God is Noah. This guy had amazing faith in God and followed God’s wisdom in getting the job done. Just think of what it must have been like for him. He and his family are living in a tropical world where they have never seen or needed rain. All the moisture they ever needed was all around them in the atmosphere, and the daily dew was sufficient for all necessary watering because the ground water was so plentiful.  But worldly sufficiency cannot compensate for spiritual deficiency. So God gave Noah an assignment.

Genesis 6:9-14; 22 “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out… Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

What would the neighbors think when Noah started to build an ark? God directs this faithful man of integrity and righteousness to build a boat. Not just any boat, but a boat so large that at least two of every kind of animal in the world could reside in it for a period of 1 year. This wasn’t just a little dugout canoe for fishing. That would not have drawn any attention from anyone. This was a statement of faith in God’s Word and a step into God’s wisdom. That first step of obedience lasted 120 years. That’s how long it took to complete the ark. But any step of faith into God’s wisdom, regardless of the length or difficulty of the road traveled, results in God’s glory. 

That’s the kind of faith we need today: faith in God’s Word that results in steps into God’s wisdom. Where has God been speaking into your life, but you have not been stepping into His wisdom? Maybe it’s in a career decision where it will take great faith to trust God’s wisdom and step in God’s direction rather than in the direction of the world’s provision. Maybe it’s in a relationship, where it will take great faith to trust God’s wisdom rather than pursue personal fulfillment or satisfaction. Maybe it’s in financial issues, where it will take great faith to step out in God’s wisdom by giving substantially to His Kingdom work rather than to the building of an earthly kingdom for self. 

Whatever the issue, right now is the right time to look up in obedience to God’s Word and step out in faith into God’s wisdom and obey God’s directions.  

Lord, give us the faith of Noah to trust your Word and tread your path. 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Over my years in ministry, I have observed two Biblical principles that must be connected and balanced. They are faith and wisdom. I have also observed that most people in the church tend to emphasize one over the other. There are those who push faith without sight, and there are those who require sight before faith. Both groups of people are needed to bring balance, but generally the two groups are at odds rather than working together to discover the will of God.  Sometimes it even results in name calling. Those who need sight call those who don’t fools. And those who don’t need sight call those who do faithless. It causes tension and division in the church and hinders the accomplishment of God’s purpose. 

There are two things we must consider. First, those who claim great faith and are ready to move forward on anything without having all the answers  must slow down and consider all the practical issues of doing so. And second, those who require all the pieces of the puzzle to be in place before moving on must learn to trust God when He says to move even when it doesn’t make sense. Both groups of people can help each other grow in faith and wisdom.

Our next devotional study is going to look at Biblical examples of people with faith and wisdom, and how both are necessary to honor God and accomplish His will. We will see that delayed obedience while we try to figure things out doesn’t honor God, and that immediate activity is presumptuous and does not accomplish God’s will. Our ultimate desire is to both honor God and accomplish His purpose. It’s not about how well we can plan our activity, provide for it, and predict the outcome. It’s about how God is going to fill the activity with His glory.

When the prophet Haggai was charged by God with the rebuilding of the Temple, the people used both wisdom and faith. By faith they built without the knowledge of where the resources would come from. Wisdom made it their priority to accomplish God’s purpose. Wisdom and faith combined to produce obedience even though none of them would see the glory of which God spoke. None of them would be around to see the “desired of all nations” arrive. None of them would be alive to see the peace in the nation that was promised. But in faith they obeyed and trusted God for the outcome. 

When everything we do is about God and His glory, then everything we have or desire to have becomes a sacrifice to accomplishing God’s purpose. That’s the faith we need to have – a faith that denies our rights to benefiting from the outcome and that acknowledges our total dependence upon God’s provision. That’s what brings us peace. Do not be afraid. God is with us, and the glory of God seen in steps of faith is greater than any glory we can claim from human solutions.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Today we conclude our study on joy from the book of Phillians. Our final thought is this –  joy results in generous giving which results in greater joy. Here’s what Paul writes to the people in Philippi.

Philippians 4:14-19 “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

Paul stated earlier that he rejoiced greatly because of the way the people of the church in Philippi gave generously to meet his needs. He describes the gifts as a fragrant offering and an acceptable sacrifice that is pleasing to God. Paul referred to these gifts when he wrote to another church in Corinth. “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” The people of Philippi gave even when everything in them told them not to. They were poor. They had trouble paying their bills. They had needs of their own, but they were content because of the strength they received from rejoicing in the Lord.  They were able to look beyond their own needs and consider others ahead of themselves because they were on Route You and not Route Me. They followed the sacrificial pattern of their Savior, and they gave, and gave, and gave some more. They were super-generous, and it touched Paul deeply and filled him with joy.

My friends, if you are not experiencing great joy in your walk with the Lord, maybe it’s because you haven’t sacrificed enough. Maybe it’s because there is too much trust in your own power to provide for yourself, and not enough trust in the provision of God. There is not much joy in knowing what we can do: there is great joy in watching what God can do. Maybe we aren’t giving Him a chance to do great things.

Years ago, our church was initiating a huge building program. We knew it would take God’s miraculous provision to accomplish it. People responded to the joy of the Lord with sacrificial gifts that covered over one-half of the total cost of the building before we even agreed to start the project. They rejoiced in being asked and they rejoiced in responding. There is no greater joy than knowing the grand and glorious work of God was accomplished through their personal sacrifice. It’s exactly what gave Jesus the strength to endure the cross – the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).

Whatever sacrifice is necessary, keep your eyes fixed on the fullness of the joy that will be yours when you do it for God’s glory. There is eternal joy in knowing that Jesus  gives us a spirit of generosity to flourish even when we think we have very little. And that produces more and greater joy. So keep being generous and reap the harvest of enduring joy.  

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, August 26, 2024

Just yesterday I saw it again. Someone posted a Bible verse and used it to justify an outcome they wanted. It was totally out of context. Many times we are guilty of taking Bible verses out of context just so we can feel better about ourselves. Sometimes we use verses to motivate ourselves within the context of possibilities, but we limit those possibilities only to those things that will benefit us. In today’s Scripture from Philippians chapter four we have such a verse that has been misused and misapplied. You will recognize it as I read this passage.

Philippians 4:10-13 “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show 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.”

How many times have you seen “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” printed on a t-shirt, uniform, or Facebook page?And how many times has it been there because the person was declaring that they have the strength to endure adversity and failure? Most of the time the verse is used to claim some guarantee of success. But that is not the context of the verse.

Paul taught the people of Philippi to rejoice in the Lord even during imprisonment. They responded to the joy of the Lord by reaching out with compassion to help Paul in his need. But Paul says this – “I do not consider myself to be in need.”  Wow! He is in prison. He is being persecuted for what he believes. He owns nothing of his own. Yet he says he is content. How is that possible. Because of the strength of the Lord. You see, the promise of doing everything through Christ who gives us strength is not a promise of success, but it is a promise of contentment even when everything is wrong.

Here’s the secret. When we rejoice in the Lord and know that He is in control of all things, working them out for His glory, then even our failures become a part of a bigger purpose than just our need for immediate gratification. And when we rejoice in God’s bigger purpose, we are given the strength to endure anything until He works it all out. We learn the secret of contentment.

Most people today are far from content. Every day they strive for more and better, thinking that life can only be enjoyed if it is free from trouble and suffering. We have become our own God, declaring the right to determine what is best for us. We rejoice in ourselves and then try to claim a Bible verse that validates our right to get it done. Then if it doesn’t, we blame God for failing us. What a frightful life.

Paul rejoiced that he was receiving help, but he wanted us to know that he wasn’t depending on the help to make his life better. He was content with any circumstance because he fully trusted God to provide him with peace while he endured the suffering. My friends, we must learn this. We must become people who truly trust God with all outcomes. The result will be peace and freedom from worry, because when we rejoice in the Lord, Christ will give us the strength to be content.

Pastor John