I was thinking about how adversities in our life are more common than ever.  It seems like around every corner something comes up in our lives that seem to take us off the path we want to go.  It could be a phone call, a letter, an email, accident, something to do with a family member or an answer to a health test that was not good.  Whatever it is it disrupts your whole life.  How do you react to these adversities?  How do you respond?

I think for most of us we initially think the worst.  We become anxious and begin to place all of our focus on what it wrong.  Does this sound like you?  We begin asking questions like, “Who’s to blame?” are “How did this happen?”  And pretty soon we fall into the trap of how can I ever be happy again? And nothing good can come from this, which moves us to, what is the point in continuing.  These are some of our natural reactions when these adversities come our way.  Our first reaction is to focus on what went wrong.  Even the disciples of Jesus reacted the same way.  In John 9:1-3 it tells of a time this happened…

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

 As you can see, the disciples first reaction was to focus on what is wrong when they asked Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents.” The disciples were so eager to find out why this happened they forgot they were standing right in front of the man who was blind.  How awkward that must have been for the blind man to hear them talking about him.  Doesn’t this sound like something we might say?  But Jesus knowing the disciples were focused on the wrong thing said, “neither this man or his parents sinned.” And then followed it up with the key to understanding how God can make something beautiful of any adversity when he says, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

 If you read the rest of the story you know that Jesus heals the man, but this is not what the story is about.  It is about God being displayed in you through any circumstance.  You see, God sometimes doesn’t change your circumstance, but wants to be seen in it.  This is the key that unlocks the beauty that is found in this passage.  When you begin to focus on what is going wrong in your life and not what God is doing right we lose sight of this beauty at work.  What I’ve learned is that my idea of making something right, might not be God’s idea of making something right. 

Contentment.  What are some of your first thoughts when you hear that word, contentment?  Contentment means:  a state of happiness and satisfaction.  I think this is something that we all pursue all throughout our live is to be content, to be happy, and to live a life of being satisfied.  I believe it is ingrained in all of us to pursue contentment, but what is that really makes us content?

Many of us believe that growing wealth will make us content. While others believe it gaining more material things such as bigger tv’s, cars, boats, etc.  The world tells us that the one with the most toys wins.  But what happens when we pursue contentment in these ways?  It seems like a race that never ends because you cannot gather enough money or material ideas to keep you content.  Once you get a bigger tv, you want a bigger one.  Once you get more money, you want more?  Does that seem like a life of contentment? 

One thing that I have been thinking about recently is this idea of contentment and how it relates to the different circumstances in my life.  You know what I mean.  When something comes up that changes the plans that I’ve made how do I stay content?  When everyone else seems to be thriving and I am not, how do I stay content?  Because when content begins to disappear, discontent rises up in your life.

I think we can find contentment if we look for it in the right places.  Even in those circumstances that arise in your life that could take you off track you can continue to be content and satisfied.  We are all aware of the Apostle Paul and all he went through once he became a Christian.  If you know his story, once he became probably the most famous evangelist for Jesus all these different circumstances started to come upon him.  He was shipwrecked, thrown in jail, beaten and then was afflicted with some kind of physical thing that began to drive him a little crazy.  But through all these different circumstance he found the secret to being content.  In Philippians 4:10-13 it tells us

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for 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 all this through him who gives me strength.

Wouldn’t you like to learn that? Not, “I’m happy about my circumstances.” Not, “I wouldn’t change ‘em if I could.”  But to be content in this way means I’ve learned to be self-sufficient in the sense of being able to resist the force/pressure/temptation brought on by circumstances. Something inside will dictate my response to what’s going on outside.

Before we talk about the secret I want you to think about what hung in balance of Paul’s willingness to endure hardship a divinely appointed hardship:  the church.  His response to adversity gave him and his message credibility. It was from that vantage point that he impacted the world.

You have no idea what or who hangs in the balance of your response to your circumstances that occur in your life.  You know, when there is nothing you can do about the circumstance. 

Then Paul gives us the secret, the how, the most famous quoted passage in the Bible, I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  It is as if he was given the keys that unlocked contentment no matter what was going on around him.  He tells us has the power, the personal resources required, to endure and press on anyway, through prison, abandonment and fear.  But the power and strength was given to him by Christ who empowers us and who gives us the strength to endure.

This is not a picture of a cheerleader showing a banner of this verse to a crowd and cheering.  But it is a picture of Paul realizing that he could not endure these circumstances that arose in his life but through the strength Christ had available to him he could.  It was like he was saying, “I can’t, I’ve reached the ends of my reserves, but He can.”  Christ didn’t opt out of the tension, but went to the cross on my behalf. He can through me. I learned to rely on his strength in me.

Maybe this might be the secret that leads to contentment for you.  To begin to say, “I can’t, but Jesus can.”  “I can’t, but He can.”  The secret is Christ living in you, and empowering you. 

We are going through a new sermon series at church right now and it is about, what do you do when there is nothing you can do?  Have you ever been in one of those situations or times in your life?  Maybe it was a family issue with a child or a physical issue with your health.  Whatever it is we all seem to go through these times in our life, whether you are in one now, or you will be, because that is the world we live in.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 the Apostle Paul talks about one of these moments in his life.  It is a time where for him it felt like the situation he was in felt like a thorn in his side.  Even the faithful, the ones that are sacrificing their lives for the sake of Christ can go through these times.  Here is what the Apostle Paul said about his…

7 I was given a thorn in my body because of the outstanding revelations I’ve received so that I wouldn’t be conceited. It’s a messenger from Satan sent to torment me so that I wouldn’t be conceited.

8 I pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me alone. 9 He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” So I’ll gladly spend my time bragging about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power can rest on me. 10 Therefore, I’m all right with weaknesses, insults, disasters, harassments, and stressful situations for the sake of Christ, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.

The Apostle Paul’s first inkling would probably be ours as well to plead to God to take this situation away.  We ask God to fix it or to take it away.  But in this case God didn’t take it away, but instead He  gave the Apostle Paul the grace needed to continue to be used by God.  This is an important insight  because we tend to look for God to change our circumstance, but God wants to change us.  In doing so, he gives us grace and power to work through these circumstances and at the same time it reflects to other that this grace and power isn’t from us, but from God.

So, maybe like the Apostle Paul we should rest in our circumstance and continue to stay faithful to God and serving Him how ever we can to show others the power, strength and grace that come’s from God can be there’s also.  Wouldn’t it be great to be able to reach someone for Christ through the circumstance and weakness you are in now? 

Let’s stay faithful to God knowing that He loves us and cares for us like nobody else could.  Trust that He has your best interest, that He knows what He is doing, and that He will give you whatever you need to get through what you are going through today.