Contentment

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.  Philippians 4:12  NIV

I find it encouraging that the apostle Paul had to “learn” the secret of being content. It was a process to learn not to be afraid of insufficiency and not to worry about the future. In his life, he certainly experienced many hardships. He faced death on more than one occasion. Perhaps it was having to look death straight in the face that helped him the most. He also had to suffer significant physical pain and sometimes when you come out the other side of pain, you have more confidence in your resilience.

I have never been really hungry but when I was an older teen I did go through a short period of living on orange drink and buns. It was interesting to see that I did quite well on this regime.  It helped me in the future to have less anxiety about food.

Sometimes the fear of a “what if” is worse than the actual experience.  I had a fear of abdominal surgery but when I had to have some done, I was surprised at how easily I dealt with it.  The pain was perfectly manageable and I healed up in short order. I don’t fear surgery anymore.

There is such freedom in being able to be content in any situation. Paul was an exceptional man, but I think I can still set myself the goal of learning to be content no matter what.