From our February 2010 Newsletter:

It was the Apostle Paul who wrote in 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 circumstance.”

Here we are at the beginning of the second month of 2010 and I wonder how true those words of Paul have been for us.  Maybe we started the new year full of New Year resolutions but how quickly those disappear as the reality of another year comes upon us with its pressures and its problems.

One of the challenging things about Paul’s contentment was found in the service of God and ultimately people.  Paul was not blinkered to other peoples needs nor did his contentment reduce him to be self centred.

The Romans had a proverb which said, “Riches are like salt water, the more you drink the more you thirst,” John Wesley’s rule was, ‘Save all you can and give all you can.’  When he was at Oxford he had 30 pounds annually.  He lived on 28 and gave 2 pounds away. Then his income increased to 60, 90 and 120 pounds annually but Wesley still lived on his 28 and gave the rest away.  His contentment was not dependent on material possessions nor was he blinkered to the needs of the world around him.

As we move into 2010 whoever we are and wherever we live may we all take to heart those words of Paul.  He had learned to trust in God for the future whatever that future might be, to share with the world in its trials, its tragedies, its heartaches, fears as well as its joys and yet still be assured of God’s presence and promises whatever the future brought for him.  He didn’t necessarily try harder but had learned to trust his God more.

David Perry.