Philippians 4:10-13 (NLT)
10 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.
Reflection:
Much of our lives is focused on doing better for ourselves. Doing well in school so we can get good grades and get a well paying job to support ourselves. Doing well at work so we can get promoted and take care of ourselves and our families. There is nothing wrong with this - it is good to do well at what we are called to do and to work hard.
But what happens when things don’t work out like we planned? We may find ourselves without a job, or struggling to make ends meet. We may find ourselves forced to make do with less than we had before. Life is full of ups and downs and we simply don’t know what may come next.
Paul found himself in many different situations. Sometimes he had enough to eat, and sometimes he didn’t. 2 Corinthians 11 gives us a sense of what he had to sometimes suffer through for the sake of the Gospel. He had often been in prison, gone without sleep, gone without food, or been cold and naked. But he learned to be content with whatever he had, whether it was a little or a lot. He gained his strength not from his material comforts or prosperity but from Christ.
Responding to the Transmitted Message:
Regardless of whatever our present circumstances may be, whether good or difficult, may we learn to live out God’s calling in our lives by trusting in the greater reality that we can do everything through Christ who alone gives us strength. Let’s turn to the Lord and ask Him to be our source of strength, not our circumstances or our comforts.
