"Contentment in Christ" by Amy Hill
Well, ladies, here we are. Can you believe it has been five weeks already? If you have gotten a little behind in the reading, no worries. Hopefully you will have some time to relax and catch up on your reading this summer. For those of you on schedule, we just finished up the final two chapters, "Christ Is All" and "True Contentment." I am on the schedule to share my thoughts this week, so here it goes…
"To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain." In other words, we can't lose. The perishable has put on the imperishable and the mortal has put on immortality. Death is swallowed up in victory! (1 Corinthians 15:54) Sure, we know that intellectually. But do we believe it? Do we live our lives like its true? Paul did. In our reading this week, Matt walked us through much of the apostle Paul's ministry, pointing out that Paul went though some wild swings in life - from ridiculous highs to extreme lows. Through this, we saw that Paul wasn't just a guy who knew a lot of information about the the gospel. Paul lived the gospel. He experienced the gospel first-hand. And his life bore "the fruit of having lived a life captured by the gospel."
An example of that fruit was Paul's unchanging contentment. Indeed, Paul writes in Philippians 4:11b-13, ESV, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
I am to be content in whatever situation. I am to yield (with a tender, malleable spirit) to God should He choose to bring me low or to make me abound. I don't know about all of you, but in either one of those extremes, I struggle. Even in the middle ground, I struggle. But especially in extremes, it is hard to be genuinely content in Christ who strengthens me.
Extreme highs are dangerous because they blind us of our need for God. These highs can fool us into taking credit for who we are and what we have (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).
Extreme lows, on the other hand, war with our pride and our human needs in ways that always seem to reveal wrong foundational security (anything other than Christ). Extreme lows can come from real need (think job loss, car crash, loss of housing). Lows can be physical (such as illness or weight gain). Lows can be relational (think death, divorce, rejection, humiliation, alienation, hurt feelings). Lows can be emotional (think stress, anxiety, fear, loneliness, defeat). When I yield to God with a tender, malleable spirit in these low places, it hurts. I actually feel a sad, bleeding pain in my chest. That might sound weird, but it is the best way I can describe it.
Lecrae (a christian hip hop artist) described it as "sanctifying surgery." Surprisingly, however, instead of wishing these kinds of circumstances away, this is what Lecrae had to say:
I volunteer for Your sanctifying surgery
I know the Spirit's purging me of everything that's hurting me
He volunteers?! Like, pick me?! Yes, because, like Paul, Lecrae knows that God uses these circumstances to make us more like Jesus. Like Paul, Lecrae believes suffering the loss of all things is rubbish, so long as it means he gets to gain Christ (Philippians 3:8). So he volunteers. He says, "Pick me!"
And, you know, I do get that. I mean, I pray crazy prayers. I pray "Pick me!" prayers. I've told God, "whatever, wherever, however - I trust you." But for real, when I'm in it, even knowing in the midst of it that my prayers are being ANSWERED, it still hurts. Most times, I try to fight that pain by trying to resist. This always leads to more difficulty and even more pain. So, ultimately, I'm forced to yield. I'm forced to trust, and to commit my way to the LORD (Psalm 37). It isn't a place without pain, but it is a place of rest, and it is a place of contentment. I just wish I would yield to begin with and avoid a lot of the excess heartbreak…
How about you? As Matt asked, "how are you doing in the area of contentment? How quick is your impulse to find satisfaction in Christ, to go to the joy of the gospel in times of stress, frustration, disappointment, and trouble?" Or, let me ask it this way, as we conclude this book, are you genuinely able to say, "To live is Christ, to die is gain"?
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I'm looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 3rd) at Kelly Mac's to kick off our next online study, "Children of the Day." If you haven't ordered the workbook, you can order it now here: http://www.lifeway.com/Product/children-of-the-day-1-2-thessalonians-member-book-P005600950?intcmp=COTDA-MTX-Text-Member-20140421
For those of you who aren't able to participate in Children of the Day, we would love to see you anyway. Just come for fun and fellowship! We're only planning to meet two more times this summer - so try your best to make it if you can :)
