CONTENTMENT

Philippians 4:12—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.

I wonder if the "desert" experiences so many Christians endure is not hastened by an unbalanced perspective of the Christian life. If we always go to church expecting to be challenged, read our Bibles anticipating profound inspiration, enter prayer insisting God meet our conditions or look for some new battle to win, are we not in danger of trying to create the "mountain-top" euphoria that is not the stuff of daily living. This is not to say we cannot experience daily joy—we should. The test of our commitment to Christ and our ability to be useful to the Master is measured by our willingness to serve in the ordinary not the extraordinary. If we will be content to serve when life is devoid of fireworks we will model the essence of what it means to live a Spirit-filled life. God is not looking for His children to exalt the ecstatic He is looking for faithfulness. Perhaps the key to being faithful begins with being content.

Inspiration

We are not built for mountains and dawns and artistic affinities; they are for moments of inspiration, that is all. We are built for the valley, for the ordinary stuff of life, and this is where we have to prove our mettle. If we cannot live in the demon-possessed valley, with the hold of God on us, by the power of the thing that is in us lifting up those who are down, our Christianity is only an abstraction.—Oswald Chambers in Shadow of an Agony