Come What May
Paul wrote, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
IRWIN, my daughter’s parakeet, has lived his entire life in a cage, unaware that he could have been free to live like other birds. Because of clipped wings, Irwin cannot fly and experience the freedom of the wind beneath his wings. Yet Irwin spends his days cheerfully pecking at a mirrored bell and singing. On warm sunny days when the window is open, I think I am hearing several birds outside chirping in the trees, but it is Irwin singing like a choir, all on his own.
Like the confined bird, the apostle Paul suffered imprisonment and many other trials. Yet the letters he wrote to the early churches centuries ago still encourage us today. God worked through Paul even in the midst of Paul’s trials.
Sometimes we may identify with Paul when we feel imprisoned by circumstances. We may allow guilt to enslave us or feel that health problems, a difficult family situation, or job loss has clipped our wings.
Because of these limitations, we are not always able to do things exactly our way. Yet this may lead us to become more open to seeking and submitting to God’s will. Our attitude and response to life and to God are choices. We can choose to be content within our unchangeable circumstances and to serve God with joy.
Belinda Howard Smith (Texas, USA)
Whatever confines us, we can still sing.
|
