The more I pondered, the more I wandered..I then came to a very vital (at least to me it is) conclusion: How you and I view the reality of our lives is very important - Do you view life from Jesus' point of view or from the world's? I believe if we search deeply into our hearts and answer this question honestly, it will certainly change our attitude towards life.
What is life? Can I suggest a description about the reality of life to you - "Life is just like a glass of water: Half empty & Half full". If today, you are able to accept this definition then I sincerely believe that we are on the right and same track as apostle Paul - who learned the secret of being content in any and every situation; whether in plenty or in want. Without viewing our lives from Christ's perspective, our lives will really be in a big mess! Life is very complicated by itself and we need to learn to accept that we cannot have and will not have everything that we want in life.
With this understanding in mind, how then are we going to cope with this stress(of not being able to have everything I want/my way)? Let me suggest to you a few principles that I have picked up from Philippians 4:11-13..1.
1. Measure your life according to God's standard (v11)
- Notice Paul in verse 11 says that he learned how to be content in any and every situation.
- Content here means - satisfied to the point where I'm not disturbed or disquieted.
- Learning to be content in whatever state we are in is something that all of us will need to keep learning.
- There's only 1 way to learn this lesson - you need to go through and experience it.
- 2 ways to measure
a) God's standard : it's no longer about me it's about living my life
to glorify God
b) World's standard : the wealth you own - When we have chosen to live our lives on this earth by God's standard, only then will we be able to stay contented in every situation.
2. Be ready for all things (v13)
- When you say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". What do you mean by that?
- Can you get things done without preparation and just being spontaneous all the time?
- In order to be able to do all things, I believe that we need to play a continuous active role of equipping & increasing our knowledge on different issues that's surrounding us. (Of course not forgetting our knowledge of the word of God)
- As God's children, it's our responsibility to train ourselves for everything - including spiritual battles and stay connected to God in order to face every situation with God's grace & wisdom.
3. Stay connected to Jesus (v13b)
- Scriptures tell us that we can do all things through what? Our own strength? NO! Other people's strength? NO WAY! Only through Christ!
- It's Jesus who infusses inner strength into us so that we can face our life which is like a glass of water - half empty & half full. It's in the sufficiency of Christ that we find our self-sufficiency!
- By ourselves, we are limitted in our capacity, strength and wisdom..but when we are constantly connected to Christ - our source for everything, at any time; we need not fear about our own lacks.
In conclusion, there are many issues in your life that will cause you not to be able to get everything you want, but let's face this reality, accept it and deal with it - times of plenty & times of lack. Whatever situation we may be in, we can still be assured and hopeful that abundant life can be found in Jesus if we learn to live life from His perspective!
