Philippians 4:12–13: “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.”
I remember feeling chastened on one occasion when I had recently come out to Africa as a single man. I was feeling lonely and homesick, and a firebrand called Livingstone came to visit me. As I wallowed in self-pity, he gently reminded me of his own situation. He had fled civil war in his homeland but then got caught up in the Congolese troubles, so had walked for 30 days through hundreds of miles of jungle. He had a bullet wound in his back to show for it, and hadn’t seen or heard of his wife and children for six years. As a refugee he had minimal rights, no job, a hovel to sleep in, and a seemingly bleak future. Yet despite his personal circumstances, Livingstone was truly alive, counting his blessings, full of the Holy Spirit; and he had come around to encourage me, even though I had so much more than him. I realized that he was one of many African men and women who, through the crucible of suffering, had been elevated to loftier heights of intimacy with their heavenly Father.
Livingstone’s attitude taught me (and can teach each one of us) that we can choose to be content and grateful for what we’ve been given rather than to complain about what we don’t have. And in choosing either the former or the latter response, it will become a habit for life. Speaking as an Englishman, our national pastime is moaning! Let’s zip it, and may God help us to choose to be grateful and contented people, because such people are joyful people, whose joy can defy personal circumstances.
Lord, forgive my moaning and ingratitude. I choose to be content today, counting the many blessings you’ve poured out on my life. Amen!
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