Day 19 - The Secret to Happiness

SCRIPTURE:

Philippians 4:12, 13

“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of, being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

DEVOTIONAL:

The Apostle Paul lived in prosperity and, at times, with humble means. Imagine having the best, driving the best, wearing the top brands; that was Paul. Now imagine losing all that and living at a city mission whose vision is to touch the lives of the outcast. Imagine not knowing where your next meal is coming from. Put on the shoes of someone who was beaten, mugged, imprisoned and shipwrecked. Now imagine holding a secret in the midst of it all that kept you stable and content; this too was Paul.

What transformed me: This was Paul’s life, and his secret transformed my outlook on both blessed and difficult circumstances. I’m still working on it!

In both prosperity and lack we can become dissatisfied and even depressed. When you don’t have much, you assume those who do are content and happy. The truth is, stuff never fills our emptiness. Even those who prosper materially can be poor and ragged spiritually.

When circumstances loom large and there seems no way over, under or around, what is our response? Paul’s response was “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!”

I was recently doing a word study on lying, deception, falsehood and similar words. I came across an interesting scripture that I still need to mull over.

“Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die: keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.” Proverbs 30:7-9

I have to remind myself that contentment isn’t in what I have or don’t have, but in whom I believe. Through Him I can do, overcome, and have victory in all things!