Joy in every situation. - 5th December 2007

Philippians 4: 12 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.

We live in a land of plenty, a land of excess at times, we want for nothing really: if we want it - we go out and get it. And even if we cannot afford it, we often still get it and end up in debt. But are we really happy for what we all have?

I have seen what it is to be in need, and seen what it is to be hungry. I have been amazed at how very little people can live with, and yet how incredibly satisfied and happy those folk are. They have no need of 3 bedroom houses, cars, cupboards full of food and wardrobes full of clothes. A stone house or grass hut, filled with as many family and friends as you can fit is a fabulous home – full of love and laughter. Any passing truck or bus that happens to pass will open their doors and squeeze you in some how. And a Blockbuster staff uniform shirt is as good a shirt as any – it clothes a person and fulfils their need.

I learned many lessons in Mozambique but one of the greatest was to be thankful for all that I have here at home. I learned that God provides for all your needs, even if that is not in the way that you expect. Whilst we may want to see things changed in other countries, want to build new homes, school houses, provide water etc to improve standards of living, these folk are so happy with whatever they have. They are not desperate for these new things – they are just incredibly grateful to God for what they already have.

God will always provide for us. That may not always be in the way we expect, and it may seem at times that we do not have all that we need to keep us going. At times we may feel hungry – physically or otherwise – but God will provide what we need to keep us going. And it is often in the hungrier times that we are most willing to learn and to grow closer to God.

Lord. Thank you that you provide for my every need. In the times when I have plenty help me to be grateful, and in the times when I am hungry for more, make me hunger only for you and nothing else. Amen.