Learn the secret of contentment in this program from Joni. God will always and forever be enough.
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SHAUNA: I’m Shauna, with Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Here’s Joni with a special word.
JONI: It’s a line from Shakespeare’s Richard III, “The Winter of Our Discontent.” And it’s also the title of a book by the American author John Steinbeck. And maybe, just maybe you will hear some people mumble that phrase this time of year. In this cold month of February. Many grow discontent because we’re restless with the long winter. We’re tired of trees that look stark. We’ve had enough of a landscape that looks brown and barren, and the ground, hard like iron. But look deeper into February. And there is – I think an unusual beauty in the unadorned landscape. Earth is stripped of its foliage, and what we see is the uncluttered foundation of just ground and sky. It’s as though nature is wearing no makeup at all. Earth’s face has been exfoliated and it’s plain, like the scrubbed face of a woman whose ruddy cheeks from the cold outdoors only add to her elegance. February is not pretty; but it is handsome in an ordinary manner. So, for those who take time to look long into this cold, austere month, they will discover a deeper beauty.
But if you are feeling restless, a tad impatient, fidgety, a little twitchy for change, for spring to quickly get here, I want to describe a deeper beauty for you. And there’s no better time than this cold month to uncover it. For anyone who’s discontent with this long winter season – now is the time to learn the secret of contentment. Paul talks about this deep, inner beauty in Philippians 4:12. He says, “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.” Okay, so, let’s unpack this.
To be content, you live “hungry” or “in want,” as Paul puts it, is like seeing beauty in a stark landscape. Because when life is stripped of its trappings – let’s say you’ve got to downsize and learn to live on less. Or when your world is reduced to the bare essentials [like experiencing the loss of a loved one, or you’re in the hospital surrounded by four plain walls]. When you experience this poverty of sorts, the leanness points us to true stability. We discover where our real security and safety reside. Because when life is stripped bare [and we’ve all experienced that], we see God more clearly. He is the most important thing in our lives. We understand how needy of God we are. And this is where we learn the secret – the secret of being content in any and every situation. Because if Jesus Christ is at the center of it all, then it doesn’t matter if you’re in need or if you have plenty. In either circumstance, you’re content, you’re at rest because you are in Christ and that is enough. You don’t want anything more, because Jesus is everything.
So, Friend, if your spirit is restless, if your life feels as cold and barren as the hard ground in winter, you’ve got this time, this month to learn the secret. Let the Lord furrow the untilled ground of your heart and turn it face-up into the sunshine of His contentment. Let God warm and revive your spirit like the beautiful forsythia that’s just about to bloom right about now. Embrace the leanness as you would embrace the stark beauty of February. For when you do, you’ll learn the Apostle Paul’s secret of contentment. And you’ll find that God is enough. He is always enough.
© Joni and Friends