Secret

I know a secret….

it’s one I want to spread

to anyone reading this

Paul shared what he had learned

and I listened

for I myself needed what this secret offered

and all of us do

It’s a secret

about how to be content

and not just content when things are pleasant

but content in any circumstance

How can that be when I’m not happy?

When things are not going as planned?

When I suffer and I don’t know why?

All is stripped away?…

What then?

How can I be content

when important things

important people

important well-being

keep me happy

enable me to do what I do things

are stripped away

What then?

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

So there

I said it

The secret is out

and it has been

since Paul penned those words so long ago

and it was known in the hearts of many of his predecessors

Joseph in a prison

David on the run

Ruth in a foreign land

Hosea with a wayward wife

Noah on a rockin’ boat

Moses with an overwhelming job

Esther in a palace of pressure

Jonathan with relatives closed to truth

Abraham never able to settle down

Isaac with work piled high

Jonah with a task unbelievable

and the list goes on

and the stories go

that each one came to find

that trusting God

and following God

and surrendering to God

is where you find contentment

in the messes

and the inconveniences

and the hardships

of life

and we each have our head-kept lists

of why discontentment is an option

and then we remember the secret

to being content

in any

and all

circumstances

I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.

– Susie Stewart

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)

I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

– 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 (NLT)

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9,10 (NLT)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

– Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Photo taken by Arik Stewart