Day 142 – March 6, 2024: Philippians 1-4, Psalm 42, Proverbs 20

We find ourselves once again with an embarrassment of choice. There is so much that we could highlight in Philippians. Whether it be salvation by grace through faith that Paul emphasizes here (2:12). But I like to highlight the most practical how to that we find in Philippians which should be the rule of life for each and every disciple of Jesus Christ. What if you made your motto Philippians 2:11b – “I have learned to be content with whatever I have” To what degree is our life a pursuit of one desire after another to help mitigate our uncontentment? Don’t we find ourselves pursuing that which we feel we need because we are currently not content with what we have?

Oh, how life would be different if we truly could believe the memory verse of all times: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me (4:13). This can only happen if we are truly content with our lives which is based upon the life of Christ within us. When we are not content it is a result of not knowing that Christ is actually present in our lives in a way that he comes to our rescue at all times. The key is being content. I love this.

Psalm 42 is a classic, but most get stuck at the deer at the stream, when all along it is a psalm of lament that the author is feeling like God is far removed from him in the midst of his suffering. Proverbs 20:30 is incredibly disturbing unless we take it metaphorically, but even then it moves the meter a bit in regards to being a bit masochistic