Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
— I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
— I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
Our society, and in fact a good percentage of our economy, is based on wants. You may not have a want for a certain item, but watch enough T.V. Commercials and read enough internet ads etc., and soon you will be shopping. That is what those in the advertising business call good advertising; creating a need in you that you obviously didn’t know you had. However now, after being “enlightened,” you realize the fun that you have been missing out on and now need it. Maybe its not fun, but it’s the admiration you would receive from your co- workers or neighbors if you wore that outfit or drove that car. Or, if you are single, you would definitely get that date. In essence, we are made to believe that by purchasing an item or items, it’s our “pot of gold.” I am exaggerating a bit, but I am not far from the truth. In 2013 $518.8 billion dollars were spent on advertising, imagine the money spent by consumers in response to all those ads?
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
The discipline of truth teaches you that happiness or fulfillment is not in things but in the person of Jesus Christ. Imagine what would happen to Madison Avenue if we actually lived out this verse. To even believe that an lifeless object, a thing, or another human being created just like me could ever be my everything? It is not only illogical, but foolish, however advertising does not address our logic it is geared to address our emotions, and this is by intent. Therefore if my relationship with Christ is marginal, I will end up following the crowd; believing that happiness is found in things or people. Imagine if status, or paycheck, or the size of our home had no affect on our joy or how we viewed ourselves? What a freedom that would be. Is this even possible? Well Paul found it possible, enspite of his adverse conditions.
If it’s true then for one, then it can be true for all. The real question is just how much “off the gird” of materialism and ego are we willing to live? Will we allow The Lord to redefine our life, are we willing to go all the way as Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can — do nothing.” To abide, is to remain, to dwell in, to live with. This is a recalibration of our mindset. The measure of my success is no longer found in my title, my salary, or the car I drive. Rather the measure of my success is found in my character. Do I have joy, peace, patience, kindness, wisdom, the greatest of these being love? Are these qualities or attributes, “fruits” as the scriptures call them, evident in my life? I’m I becoming “Christ – like,” then by a new standard, an eternal standard, I am successful.
However this success is not based on me achieving a spiritual goal. This success is found in choosing to sit before Christ and giving the Holy Spirit access to my life. Let’s look into the lives of Mary and Martha; two women who very much represent the decisions that play out daily in our lives.
“And a certain woman named Martha received him( Jesus and his disciplines) into her house and she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was encumbered (stressing) about much serving ( she had reason to be, she had a lot of people in her house now, yet…) and she came to him, and said, Lord,dost thou not care ( how often do we accuse The Lord of not caring?) that my sister hath left me to serve alone, bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful ( stressed, worried) and troubled ( preoccupied, fretful) about many things : But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her ( a super important point, Luke 10:38 -42)
Martha was busy with doing life, fitting into what society expected of her; yet Mary chose differently, even at the expense of her sister. Martha’s personality is easy to relate to. It goes like this, “I will read my Bible as soon as I get this finished.” Invariably something else always gets in the way and so it goes all day long. As the day comes to the end, the Bible remains unread. Tomorrow starts and we say the same thing with the same results.This is the weakness of the American church, we have Martha syndrome and we cheat ourselves out of the absolute best decision we could make for our life.
To be a Mary is too close your eyes to all earthly doing until the doing of Heaven has been done. When the Eternal business of Heaven has been completed, then and only then, do we tend to the temporal. And how that plays out in our individual lives is unique to each of us. For me it means first thing on the weekends I am in the scriptures. Monday through Friday it is my lunch time, even if lunch is at five. This means I say no to lunch invites, make my lunch so I don’t waste time buying it and eat alone as opposed to eating with the men. And when I worked for someone it was even more awkward. Everyone went out to lunch and I would go to the “barn” to eat my lunch alone. In the winter it was freezing so I would bring a blanket with me. It’s not easy to be a Mary, it can also cause conflict in our marriages. This dynamic plays out between spouses and it can make for some difficult seasons.
— I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. Can we actually have happiness while in a state of want – to be in hunger and or suffer need? Well it depends, lets first define hunger? Is hunger when your stomach is full but your soul is dry and arid? In Proverbs 10:3 The Lord makes this statement, “The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.” Or is hunger when your stomach may be in want but you are filled with the joy of Christ, which of the two hungers are greater? And what is want when your Dad has all Eternity to share with you and riches beyond comprehension. Can we actually say that in this dot of our existence that we actually went in want when Christ is King? Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”
That is not to say there is not suffering. Many areas of the world to be a Christian is to suffer, yet we are told that if we suffer for Christ we are to rejoice. 1 Peter 4:13 & 14 “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”
Our pastor recently told a story of a young man who at the age of four suffered a terrible car accident. Though the doctors saved his life, they could not spare him from the intense pain and crippling effect he would have to suffer as a result of it. At the age of 17 our pastor met him and sought to be an encouragement, however the opposite occurred. The young man knew exactly what the pastor was attempting to do, as many before him. So with politeness he interrupted the pastor and said, “Don’t worry pastor, God has all of eternity to make it up to me.” Would to God we had this young man’s conviction and prespective on life, what a church we would be!! Truth had disciplined him until like a finely tuned instrument he hummed the tunes of heaven. When life as we know it has been challenged or changed due to circumstances, then and really only then our priorities change. God can use suffering to show us how fragile this life can be and how needful we are of Him. In many respects our abundant life style is what cripples us.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
When I was in high school I ran cross country and a normal day for us was 5 miles in the morning before school and 10 -12 miles after school. In the winter months we ran in the dark. I would have never thought I could have run so much in a single day if I was not pushed to do so, and this is true with our verse. How do we know we can do all things in Christ if life was not challenging, if life didn’t push us? It is in the challenges, in the pain and crisis of life that we press more into Christ and in so doing our faith grows. We learn that truly we can do all things in Him. So many times the verses we quote have no real life application to them. When a verse lives inside of you because it became your bread and water during a crisis time. Then you know you know it and when you share it, it is shared with absolute conviction. I “learn” a verse, then God quite promptly assigns the appropriate trial or trials to make sure that I don’t forget it. It becomes part of me, another “room addition” of God’s Kingdom gets erected in me.
“Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.” I love Paul because his life was so balanced. He was never outside the reach of everyday believers. In today’s church culture he would be a mega super star. When he was alone, Christ was his strenght and when in communication with others, he welcomed and appreciated their help. His greatest asset was his humility and likewise with us, humility is the gift of all gifts. It doesn’t matter how talented we are, or how well we preach/ teach, sing, without humility it really means nothing. Aside from this, this verse points out the importance of supporting those who are truly in the ministry. There are those who chose the field for themselves, they do more harm than good, but their are those whose lives are marked by a Holy Spirit anointing who are truly called to serve, and we should support them.
Final Note : Christina Grimmy, a contestant on the Voice was a believer, and on her Facebook page the last recorded song she sang was in “Christ Alone” for Easter. One of the devil’s ambassadors came traveling 120 miles to one of her book signings and shot her and then himself. She received the answer to her beloved song, and he received his reward as well. A greater punishment that any jail could give. Prayer for the family, she was a darling young lady only 21 years of age.
Father God,
Thank you for this study, though it be somewhat intense it speaks to the fault and need of our Christian culture. May we join our young brother and not shrink back from hardship, suffering or pain. You truly have all of Eternity to make it up to us. Let us, like Paul, be more concerned that we run the good race of the Faith, bringing others with us. Let us rise to the calling of a heavenward life. Thank you and Amen.
Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur