CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
They’re your initiation into Christ’s strength.
Text - Philippians 4:11-13
I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 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. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1. The secret is being content in any and every situation.
Paul wrote, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15)
Paul knew the Old Testament passage (Isaiah 26:3) – “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
2. The secret is for the initiated.
“Secret” from Greek word commonly used for initiation in secret rites.
It was something learned. How did Paul learn it? What was his initiation?
I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
2 Corinthians 11:23-27
Have you been initiated? “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.” (Philippians 1:29)
3. A little of Jesus + some of my strengths = not enough.
t might be enough for here, but it is not enough to get you there.
There is nothing you can add to what Jesus can do for you (Galatians 2:20; 6:14) - I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me…May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
4. All of Jesus + nothing = everything I need. That’s the secret of being content.
Your circumstances are your initiation into him who gives me strength.
Are you learning the secret or letting your circumstances tell you something else?