“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” — Philippians 4:11
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What brings lasting satisfaction to your soul — that place where you are fulfilled, unworried and at peace? Being content is a practice learned through life experienced with Jesus. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen only when life is easy.
When I first made it to the majors, I pitched well, earning a save in my first outing and a win in my second. I was content, but I wasn’t complacent. Being complacent often involves becoming smug, proud and self-satisfied. I realized I still had much to learn about pitching at the highest level if I wanted to stay. I asked questions of the veterans and I paid attention during the games, attempting to glean all I could.
In my third outing, I tore a muscle in my arm and was placed on the disabled list. The next day, I remember sitting in the dugout and sensing the Lord speaking to my heart: “Do you trust Me with the life I’ve given you?” I didn’t understand “why” this was happening, but I trusted the One who was in control.
Paul learned to be content with Jesus leading his life without becoming complacent. He impacted the world with the Gospel, but 2 Corinthians 11 tells us Paul had been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, in hunger and thirst, cold and exposed, and he carried worries over the newly-formed churches. So where did his contentment come from? His statement in Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) points to his Source: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
— Mickey Weston, Chicago White Sox chaplain
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