JANUARY, 2005

Dear St. Paul’s Family and Friends,

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

Can you say these words first spoken by the apostle Paul and mean them?  It is easy to be content when everything is going as planned.  What about when you’re busy or burdened or feeling burned out?  What about when things don’t go your way?  What about when your day is ruled by Murphy’s Law?  Are you content in any circumstance you face?

Paul was imprisoned, flogged, exposed to death several times, five times beaten with thirty-nine lashes, three times beaten with rods, stoned once, three times shipwrecked, deprived of sleep, gone without food, and had been cold and naked. Yet he said,

“I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances.”

Can you imagine leading a team to the Super Bowl and winning it and then be released by that team?  It happened to NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer.  After winning the Super Bowl in 2001 he was released by the Ravens.  He was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks, but not to be the starting quarterback.  Trent was going to be back up to starting quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck.

He took the field for only a handful of plays that year, yet he was awarded the Steve Largent Award and the Ed Block Courage Award by the Seahawks.

He received these awards because he applied the following lesson from God’s Word, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

Like Paul, who knew how to be content whether he had plenty or whether he was in need, Trent put his own personal desires aside for the good of the team. Like Paul, Trent saw his life from God’s point of view and he drew strength from Christ’s power.

As we look forward to a new year we would be wise to learn from the example that Paul and Trent set before us.

They focused on what they were supposed to do, not what they felt they should have. They had their priorities straight and they were grateful for everything God had given them. They had detached themselves from the nonessentials. They “learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

My prayer for 2005 is that we may learn to rely on God’s promises and Christ’s power to help us be content.

May we trust God’s promise that He will supply all our needs; BUT ONLY in a way that He knows is best for us.

In Christ's Love,