September 1 - October 31 is
Marion Medical Mission Well Season for 2021. The season will include daily devotionals - one for each day the U.S. volunteers are overseas, sharing the love of Jesus by providing safe, clean, sustainable sources of drinking water to the extreme poor in sub-Saharan Africa.
Marion Medical Mission is one of our mission partners at
Grace Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, and we STRONGLY encourage you to read these devotions to learn more about -
and pray for! - their mission.
October 20, 2021
LEARNING CONTENTMENT
Reverend Suzanne Gorhau
Volunteer & MMM Board Member, Nebraska/Iowa
"I have learned to be content
with whatever I have.” Philippians 4:11
The apostle Paul says he has learned how to be content with whatever he has. It’s
something I need to learn, over and over. On my first trip to Malawi in 2001, what I
missed most was cold drinks. One day, our truck got a flat tire. The villagers helped put
on the spare, but we had to drive to a gas station in Mzimba to get the flat tire fixed.
When we pulled into the gas station, I saw a refrigerator case with cold Cokes. I had two
ice cold Cokes that day. I’ve never been so glad for a flat tire in my life.
When I got back home, I went on a retreat with my church. We had a cooler filled with
ice and cold drinks, and I was disappointed because there weren’t any Diet Dr. Peppers,
my drink of choice at the time. It had only been a couple of months since that two-coldCoke day, but I had already started to take things for granted.
Going to another country is great practice in learning to be content because often
things aren’t like they are at home: different food, different accommodations,
sometimes no electricity or running water, no internet connection or phone calls
home to loved ones. If we can learn Paul’s secret of being content no matter the
circumstances, our lives (and our trips to other countries) could be much more peaceful
and joyful. I don’t have to have a cold Diet Dr. Pepper to be happy.
But I’m sure there were things Paul wasn’t content to do without. His calling and
passion was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and he wasn’t content until he did
all he could to make that happen. We, too, have a calling to make sure our brothers and
sisters have clean water and enough food to eat, and we won’t be content until we do
all we can to make that happen. That’s what I call “holy discontent.”
Paul’s contentment went much deeper than just being satisfied with what he had or
didn’t have. His contentment came from God. The reason he was able to be in want at
times was because he knew he had the most important thing: God. With God, he could
face any situation.
Application Question: What is one thing I can learn to be content without?
Prayer: Dear God, help me focus less on what I don’t have and more on what I do have.
Remind me that all I really need is you. Amen.
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