"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." (NIV)
A couple of months ago, I had a mice infestation in my house. I can’t tell you how frustrating it was. It took about four weeks to get rid of all of them, money for traps (and finally poison), continually cleaning, reboxing things, and throwing out the things they destroyed (including a pair of my favorite sandals). In the process of trying to locate the mice, we had to plug and unplug the refrigerator several times.
Now, I have to tell you that this fridge isn’t the one I originally chose and bought a number of years ago. The one I chose had no fancy doo-dads because that’s just more to have to repair. It was a simple bottom-freezer fridge. But the ice maker kept going out until it finally disintegrated. Since the fridge was still under warranty, they tagged it a lemon and allowed me to get another fridge. The problem was, the only fridge available in the same price was a side-by-side with all the computerized stuff in the door. But needing a fridge and not having the money to buy another one, particularly when I could get this one as a free replacement, I took the side-by-side.
The night we had to plug and unplug the fridge several times (to get to the mice in the wall behind it), my worst fears were realized. The computerized panel in the door stopped working! We tried resetting it (talking to several techs a number of times) with no results. Finally, I paid a company to send someone out to see what was wrong. Of course, it wasn’t just something simple (or inexpensive). The entire motherboard was blown and needed to be replaced to the tune of $600.
Well, that wasn’t happening. First off, I don’t have that kind of money to spend on refrigerators and, if I were so inclined, I wouldn’t do it since I can buy a perfectly good refrigerator (albeit used) for half that price. The water feature in door still worked, so we could access filtered water and I could pull out the (heavy and cumbersome) ice tray to get ice, so that’s how I decided I would live. And I’ve been content to do that.
I’ve been praying about some other financial needs and concerns, but basically stopped praying about the fridge since it was deemed "dead." The basic cooling/freezing functions still worked, it still made ice, and I could get water, so I’ve been totally fine. The inconvenience of the door panel stuff not working is, in the scheme of life, simply not that important. I’m working hard at learning to be content with what God provides for me that day.
The Lord’s prayer says "Give us today our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11 NIV). The Lord Jesus’ reference, I believe, is a direct reference back to the manna that God provided to the children of Israel in the desert. The Israelites traveled across the desert and there was no food available. He provided a seed which was named manna. It fell from the sky six days a week, with double the amount needed on the sixth day to provide for the seventh day, the day of rest. But the manna would spoil if anyone tried to save it from one day to another except for that sixth day. It was, literally, daily bread.
And so, my fridge had become my "daily bread" in some ways. I certainly didn’t need that panel to work. I could get water and ice just fine. Even though it was inconvenient, it was certainly doable. Daily bread.
Then, this morning I woke up and the panel is working! God performed a miracle on my fridge during the night and repaired the $600 motherboard that the technician swore was damaged beyond repair. My fridge is working fine.
I’m learning to be content in plenty and in want.
I think this is a lesson that is so important for us as Christians. I think we become, without even realizing it, greedy and then stingy because we are afraid of being in want. We have forgotten what it means to be generous, even sacrificially generous, because we are afraid of want. The apostle Paul talked about the generosity that comes from God’s grace, the kind of generosity that should be characteristic of all Christians:
"And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us" (2 Corinthians 8:1-5 NIV).
The Macedonian Christians gave beyond their ability to give. Rather than hold onto what they needed for themselves or for their families, they gave sacrificially trusting God to provide for that day.
I’ve often wondered what is going to happen when the Church is raptured and it is discovered that there are literally millions of dollars in savings accounts that could have been used to feed and house people who are desperately in need. We often use the excuse that we are saving in order to provide for our families, but what are we teaching our families (our children) by this lesson? And if the economy does collapse, are we willing to board ourselves up in our homes and keep our own stomachs full while people around us starve? Isn’t that what we are often doing now, rather than sharing with those who are in need?
I think that the Father wants to teach us to trust Him for today because tomorrow is never promised. And with what we have today, He wants us to be generous beyond our ability so that He can bless us even more than He already does. Father God loves to bless us, but if we are so busy taking care of ourselves, how can He do that? He wants us to reach out to those around us, taking care of them so that He can take care of us. And that begins with us learning how to be content with whatever He provides for that day.
Lord, give us today our daily bread.
© 2016 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment