11/18/2020
Are we satisfied with our lives, and in every condition we find ourselves experiencing as we live them out? Do we lean back into the arms of the Lord to receive His peace, or do we fret and become anxious as we face the challenges and turmoil that this world surrounds us with?
Maybe our lives have been easy, and filled with every luxury and reason to celebrate, but this is equally as dangerous because in such circumstances we lose sight of the fullness of God’s provision, and begin to believe that we are living this way because of our own efforts. Neither of these extremes, anxiousness or self assuredness, are good. We should be steady in our faith, and forever trusting in God. We should praise the Lord in our highs, and lows alike.
“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.”
Philippians 4:12 ESV
The apostle Paul learned this lesson of contentment, and how a person can remain constantly at ease, and peace, by the faith he has derived from the life of Christ, and so should we. We say that Jesus was humble, and so he was. We say that He was obedient, and He was this too, but as we study the gospel, we find that no matter the circumstances He faced, or how we come to describe Him, the trait we assign to Him is underpinned by His trust in the steadfast love and will of God. We only know of one time in which He became angry, one time when he wept, one time that He sweated blood as He questioned His Father, and one time of sin in His life... when He took on our sins at Calvary. Just as Paul spoke of doing the things he did through the strength of Jesus,
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 ESV
Jesus also did all things through the strength provided by His Heavenly Father...
““I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
John 5:30 ESV
As Paul describes it, this is how we face both abundance and need... we trust completely in our faith, and realize that the only things that truly matter in this world are our steadfast love of God, and faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. I once heard a line in a movie that described the faith of the 12 apostles by describing their deaths by saying that all of them except John died horrible deaths for their faith in Christ. The next line was a question that each of us should answer for ourselves... “who willingly does this except one who believes, and trusts completely in their faith?” As I contemplated this I realized how true it was, and thought to myself “Even Stephen died knowing how to experience an abundance of faith... and how to to be brought low. He saw Heaven, and then felt the crushing impact of the stones.
“And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Acts 7:56-60 ESV
Isn’t it interesting that they laid the clothes of this man, Stephen, at the feet of Saul of Tarsus who would later become the Apostle Paul. Stephen asked that Saul, and the others, be forgiven, and we see by Saul’s life that they received that forgiveness. Could Saul have become Paul without Stephen’s first having forgiven him? Could he have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need?
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
Matthew 18:18-19 ESV
This scripture says that two or more must agree. The two who agreed here were Stephen and Jesus, and we realize this by their identical words from the cross, and during the stoning.
So are we content in the Highs and lows in our own lives, or do we live anxiously as we are stoned, and happily in the times of plenty?
I pray that we have each “learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” This lesson is drawn directly from the life of Jesus, and is passed on to Paul, and to each of us if we would only receive it.
Pray:
Father, thank you for teaching us the secret of facing every circumstance in our lives from the vantage of peace, and joy through the gospel of Jesus, and the example set by the Apostle Paul. Thank you for giving us the eyes to see how powerful this secret is in strengthening our faith, and healing our bodies. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who takes our fear, worry, and anxiousness from us, and replacing it with your peace, and health. Praised be your name Father, for every time your Holy Spirit leads us to lean back into your arms. Hear our prayers as we thank you for teaching us to abound in you as we faced the highs and lows of life with equal faith and trust. See us humble, obedient, and worthy, as we stand before your throne of judgement. See no sin in us as we have been washed in the blood of Jesus... be pleased in us for having overcome the temptations of abundance and need. Lift us up before you Lord, and welcome us into your house, and at your table, forevermore.
Rich Forbes