In one of my seasons of frustration, not understanding what was going on and why things were not as I felt they should be, I heard that still, small whisper, “Be still and be content!”
The Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance that “Paul learned to be content!” As we walk the runway of life and encounter all the detours of life, it is sometimes hard to put a smile on and say, “All is well.”
I began reading the book of Philippians, as I knew that was where Paul said, “For I have learned in whatever state I am to be content” (Phil. 4:11b). I found a secret in his learning process in Philippians 3:13: “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”
God always thinks about the future (Jer. 29:11). Satan doesn’t know the future, so of course he is always bringing up the past. As I meditated on all of these thoughts, I asked God, “How do I forget? Satan is always bringing up the past!” He instantly spoke to my spirit, “You remember.” “Remember,” I thought. Again He spoke, “When you remember, you are choosing your thoughts!” If you are not choosing your thoughts, where do you think those thoughts are coming from?
Paul gives us a clear warning in 2 Corinthians 11:3: “But I fear that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve through his trickery, so your minds might be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Second Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
