WIGGLE ROOM AND CONTENTMENT
The Apostle Paul writes of contentment while sitting in a damp, dark and dreary prison chained between Roman soldiers. To the Philippians he writes from prison: “… I have learned to be satisfied in any circumstance. I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance.” Philippians 4:11b-12 (Passion Bible Translation)
The King James version uses “contentment” instead of satisfied. Both words convey something we have to learn. More to the point, something we have to use. Wiggle Room requires contentment. Discontentment is incompatible with the environment where God releases His power.
Paul used contentment as a buffer to his life’s ups and downs. Paul knew how to be it and to use it. Contentment doesn’t come naturally. It’s right up there with patience. What if we choose to operate in contentment as our first response to adversity and difficult times.
Paul lived true to both his convictions and his calling. Anchored to soldiers on each side, Paul preached the gospel. They got saved. He gave God free reign and discovered the fulfillment in writing letters. His written words touched believers throughout the churches where he had preached and even beyond. When he writes in Romans 1:16 that he is not ashamed of the Gospel, he is writing from experiences that would leave most us anxious, rather than content. Throughout his life, Paul lived unashamed regardless of the conditions where he found himself.
Wiggle Room lives freely in the lives of those whose contentment is in the person of Christ, regardless of their surroundings or challenges. We say we want to do exploits for God. But, when God doesn’t give us all the details or show us the final picture, we recoil. Until He finds that he can trust us to follow through, it would be a waste of time to download all the details.
What if we found our contentment in Him, rather than in times when everything is going well. Rejection didn’t defer Paul from his mission. Isolation didn’t limit his audience. Stuck didn’t stick on Paul. He learned to out-maneuver isolation and confinement. That’s how the early believers lived. That why we reap the consequences of those who lived equally content at death’s door, as they did at life’s opportunity.
Wiggle Room gives God a blank slate to write and rewrite our story. Our mission is the same as Paul’s mission. It runs through our story unhindered when we learn to be content. The mission accelerates only when nothing matters in our life but Jesus! Millions before us gave His mission Wiggle Room. We must do the same. How else could we achieve Jesus’ final words:
“Now wherever you go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 Passion Bible Translation
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