The Secret
Psst. Do you know the secret? Ever so quietly, our Creator speaks.
There are times when God appears in grandiose style, although for the most part His interaction with people is but a whisper, like a gentle breeze quietly blowing across one’s check. The wind of the Spirit is almost always blowing, but also almost always easily ignored.
Proverbs 25:2 tells us that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search out a matter. In other words, it’s up to us to pursue the knowledge of God.
One passage that epitomizes this concept is Philippians 4:11-13. We’re all familiar with verse 13:
I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me.” (NET)
There is an often overlooked mystery to this verse because it is rarely applied in its original and intended context.
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content in any circumstance. I have experienced times of need and times of abundance. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment,whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. Philippians 4:11-12 (NET)
Clearly Paul understood the secret of the wilderness—to be able to be content and at peace regardless of what he did or didn’t have. But he didn’t tell us the secret!
The secret was a mystery to the Israelites in the desert, and I believe that for most of us today it remains a mystery as well. Do we have an interest in digging deeper?
