Daily Devotions 19th Sept 2017

Phip 4: 12I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation

Paul is writing about his life as a faithful servant of God, he was an itinerant preacher and he had to live by faith. This means that he had no full time financial support from any sources. There was no fixed income from any sponsor or sending church, in fact we read that he had to work to support his own ministry and when he could not find any work, he often had to go without food and sometimes even for many days.

He had only the piece of clothes on his body and nothing more. He did not carry a wallet as he had no money to bring along. This was the price he had to pay when he decided to follow Jesus; he turned his back to all the materialism of the world. He forsook all the fame that he had before, now he was despised by his former friends who were the religious temple leaders and now they had turned against him and had become his persecutors instead.

In spite of all these difficulties and challenges, Paul never looked back to his past but he kept his focus on Jesus as he had that personal encounter with the Lord. Looking at his circumstances now, Paul said in the next verse in Phip 4: 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Truly when God calls us, He will also enable us to bear all the consequences that come along with it. In the present day, we see that many full time ministers are enjoying the luxury of successful ministries where there are able to afford multi million dollars penthouses, mansions, cars and even jet planes.

But this is not how the early apostles started and finished, today we still see many of the evangelists and travelling ministers living on shoe string budgets. They have to pay their travelling costs on their own; they go to small churches that cannot afford to give them generous love gifts, but they do all these through the love that Jesus had given them for the people. They are true servants of the Lord.

They lay down their lives and do not count the cost. This is what Jesus is saying and calling out to us. Are we willing to pay the price for our lives as he ahd paid His?