Introduction
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10
The world values beauty and strength. Advertisers frequently appeal to our vanity by marketing their products as that which will restore our youth and vitality. So when we are weak (emotionally, physically, or spiritually), our natural inclination is to feel shame and to want to escape it.
Our culture also abhors insults, hardships, persecution, and calamities. These are things to be avoided, not accepted. Our society encourages us to stand up for our rights! The world tells us that if we work together, we can overcome disease, hate, global terrorism, and even natural disasters.
And yet, history has proven that despite all man’s efforts toward peace, equality, and prosperity, abuse remains. We are expressing the same complaints of our forefathers. We cannot escape our mortality, suffering, injustice, and pain through anything this world has to offer. This can leave us feeling discontent in many areas of our lives.
And yet, Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “…I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need.” Philippians 4:11-12
So, what is this secret? Where can we look to find contentment amid the clamoring and chaos of our world?
The secret of facing every situation in contentment is Jesus Christ. When we fully embrace the truth that we died with Christ on the cross and rose again to a new life in Him, we no longer desire to escape our weaknesses, difficulties, persecutions, and pain because we see things differently.
Hebrews 2:8-10 explains, “Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Jesus suffered and died on the cross to bring us to glory. “If we live, we live for the LORD; and if we die, we die for the LORD. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the LORD.” (Romans 14:8) Jesus is the object of our love and our life. When we look and see Him loving us unto death on the cross, we know that we are loved and forgiven and this fills us with a contentment that is constant regardless of our circumstances.
Friend, you died with Christ and rose in Him to a new life. A life where tragedy becomes a triumph, obstacles become opportunities, and trouble becomes a testimony to God’s mercy, love, grace, and faithfulness.
llustration
In the book of Daniel, we read the account of three Hebrew young men who were taken captive to Babylon, had their names changed to Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego, and were commanded to bow down and worship a golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Their resistance meant facing the wrath of the king and being thrown into a furnace of fire.
They refused to bow to the statue, saying, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).
They refused to serve the gods of the Babylonians nor bow down to the statue of gold, and so they were bound and thrown into the fire. The fire was so hot it killed the soldiers who threw the three Hebrew men into the fire.
God performed a miracle to keep the three Hebrew men from being burned, and they walked out of the furnace, having lost only that which bound them. They were freed in the fire, and free when they came out.
But the most significant point of the story is what the King, who had thrown the men into the fire, saw when he looked into the furnace:
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’
They replied, ‘Certainly, Your Majesty.’
He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods’” (Daniel 3:24-25).
The Son of God, Jesus Christ Himself, had gone into the fire to rescue these three Hebrews and brought them out safely.
The Hebrew men had their minds, hearts, and eyes set on God before they went into the fire, so they were content to face death; they did not resist the persecution. And in the fire, they saw Jesus, the Son of God, face to face. Jesus saved them and set them free.
About six hundred years later, the Son of God went into another fire, the fire of God’s wrath against sin. He went to a criminal’s cross and was baptized by fire as He endured not only the beatings of the Romans and the mockings of the Jewish leaders but also the intense hatred of a holy God against our sin. This time, the fire of God’s wrath completely consumed Jesus, and in so doing, it set us free. All who believe are free from sin’s penalty, free from guilt, and are being freed from sin’s power. We come to the cross, watch the fire consuming the Son of God, and we are content to face the temporary hardships and calamities of this life because we know that not one spark of that eternal fire of wrath will reach us; indeed, nothing of that fire even touches us.
“…the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them” (Daniel 3:27).
Just as Jesus entered the fire to rescue the three Hebrew young men, so He has entered the fire of God’s wrath to rescue you from it. He died in it and, at the same time, freed you from it. Now, find your contentment in Jesus and His finished work.
Application
Have you been seeking relief from the difficulties of life in earthly things? Are you comfort eating, drinking to forget, seeking satisfaction in sexual impurity? Are you living a life of self-loathing, bound up with bitterness about what others have done to you, seething in anger, coveting other’s circumstances, or living in hate or resentment?
Look to Jesus, dear friend. Look to His cross and see Jesus pouring out His life to set your free. See that you are safe in His love, accepted in His righteousness, and free in His forgiveness.
Come to the cross of Jesus and see Him facing all the hardships of life and living through them perfectly and attributing that perfection to you. See Jesus enduring all the persecutions, unjust mockings and beatings, taking on all your weaknesses and failings and dying with them. Now see Him rising with healing in His wings for you. Learn contentment from your Beloved! Embrace the new life that Jesus has purchased for you. Rejoice in your King Jesus who never leaves you nor forsakes you.
When you experience trials, hardships, or persecution, you can be fully content, for Jesus is in the trial with you. Jesus brings freedom to you in the midst of your difficulties. He is in control; He will sustain you and bring you through safely. You are loved!
“Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13: 5-6
Question: How does focusing on Christ and His cross foster contentment in your heart today?
Jen writes, “By His death on the cross, everything and every need I could ever have has been met! Jesus went through the fire so that I can be in the fire of this world without even the scent of smoke on me! He is my everything and without Him I would have nothing!“
Judy writes, “Lord help me to keep my eyes on the sacrifice, the blood you shed for me. As I look to the cross, the fire burning and not consuming, just as we are cleansed into a new life with Christ, all the old is washed away. Help me to focus more on You than me. Amen!“
Sophia writes, “There was so much to learn in this lesson!
– In any state of weakness, hardship, abundance, or need, the SECRET of facing those things is Jesus Christ who strengthens me!
– What gives me contentment/strength in him? Knowing that I belong to him, and knowing his love and forgiveness to me is one thing, because he took the fire of God’s wrath for me.
– Another thing is knowing that he is with me in the fire and that he will not let a hair of my head be singed 🙂
– what will not give me contentment? Earthly things.
I am amazed by the mercies of Jesus. That he would do that for me! God’s wrath is not an easy thing, especially coming from a father to a Son. I’m undone by the grace of Jesus to stand with me in the fire even though he doesn’t have to.
Mike L. writes, “Wow, this is so comforting, the world tries to offer stuff to fulfill your life, like everything is about entertainment, holidays, sports events, material things that are shiny and new, but none of these things fulfill us in any way, they are fleeting and leave us wanting. Real satisfaction comes in seeing how loved I am by the Creator of all things, so much so that He gave His very life so that my needs could be fully met. That is absolutely mind-boggling, humbling, knowing that I am loved so much. There is nothing more fulfilling than spending time with Jesus, I’ve spent alot of time doing things that have not met my needs but I have never felt that way spending time worshipping Jesus.”
Reprinted by permission from the Looking to Jesus study at www.settingcaptivesfree.com. SCF exists to help men and women find freedom in Christ through the gospel.