Contentment

“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

Has anyone asked you, “If God is good, why does He allow bad things to happen to good people”? The truth is that there are no good people, but that is not the answer they are looking for. Christians are not immune from being discouraged when “bad things” happen in their lives, however, this is no excuse to hide away in a cave. As Christians, we must have the same attitude as Paul. The Apostle Paul loved the Corinthians. Even though Paul had brought the   gospel to them, nurtured them, taught them, and poured his life into them, many of them had turned on him in favor of the false apostles. However, in spite of the personal anguish, he knew that in order for him to be at peace he needed to be content  even with, “insults, hardships, persecutions, and    calamities”.

John MacArthur made the following comments about this passage:

Having a proper perspective on trouble, trials, and suffering is the cornerstone of Christian living. Focusing all one’s efforts on removing difficulties is not the answer. Believers need to embrace the trials God allows them to un dergo, knowing that those trials reveal their character, humble them, draw them closer to God, and allow Him to display His grace and power in their lives.

They should heed the counsel of apostle James to “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its       perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4).

Christian, you  must trust God the most in areas of your life where you are weakest, or where you suffer the most. Christians who are trusting God are most powerful when they have the least self-reliance. God’s power is far and away more capable than our own.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark