Contentment

Luke 1:15-17

“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

In my devotional reading I have been intrigued by the ministry of John the Baptist. Here is a man who was “filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.” Luke 1:41 records that he “leaped in his mother Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice.” From birth he had this spiritual connection and awareness of His life destiny. He ministered with such authority that thousands came out into the wilderness to hear him. He did not have all the technological advances and resources of our day that seem to drive our lives, work, and ministry. Unlike the Jewish leaders of his day, he had no position, wealth, program or glorious temple to attract people.

John, with the thousands that followed him and his prophetic ministry, could have had all of the above things. Yet, he lived in the wilderness, wearing animal skins and living off of locusts and wild honey. This was hugely abnormal and not the typical road to success. I’m sure there was plenty of opportunity for John to have advanced himself and enjoy the fruit of his work or ministry. Yet, John seemed to have an unshakable sense of his calling and destiny that allowed him to be content with what God had called him to do.

John said, “I am not the Christ.” "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Make straight the way of the Lord."' “It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose." (John 1:20,23,27) He went on to say in John 3:27, “A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” In other words, the things that I do, the authority that I walk in, and the success of my ministry are from heaven. So he goes on to say, like the friend of the bridegroom, my joy and complete fulfillment is in ushering in the bridegroom. Therefore, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

We often spend so much time trying to advance or better our living conditions, career or ministry that we lose the simple joy of loving, honoring, and lifting up the bridegroom. The great Apostle Paul said, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” (Philippians 4:11) Paul could even sing for joy when beaten and in prison. Contentment is not void of hard work, challenges, struggles, and pain. But like John the Baptist, contentment is the joy of doing what God has called, gifted and anointed you to do in preparing the way of the Lord, even in the wilderness.

Andy Clark