Today we are in the age of the jubilee – the age of grace – which means that we should have no worry or anxiety, no concern or care, no lack or shortage, no sickness or calamity, and no problems whatsoever, but rather we have all benefits! In the jubilee, all things are for our satisfaction…
Yet if we look at ourselves, at our human life on earth, we will realize that our human life is not always satisfying, our environment is not always gratifying, and the people around us are not always pleasant and wonderful towards us!
Just like the apostle Paul in Phil. 4:11-13, we need to learn the secret of being content in all things – whether in lack or in abundance, whether in persecution or appraisal, whether filled or in hunger. The secret is that everything can be satisfying to us only after we have gained the all-inclusive Christ as our enjoyment!
The secret to being content and satisfied is Christ – enjoying Christ in any kind of situation will make us content and satisfied! It is not outward persons, situations, matters, or things – but the Christ within who enables us to be calm and free from worries, not distracted or troubled by the things happening around us. We just need to enjoy Christ!
Human life at its best is filled with labor and toil! Even seemingly good things or positive practices can become labor and enslave us in our human living! According to the Bible, there are at least three kinds of labor:
- The labor to be a good person – to have good behavior, to improve our character, to keep the law, be patient, kind, and honest. You may say, But all these things are positive and good! – and it is good to try to do this! Well, though it may seem good to have these things or try to accomplish these things in one’s human life, the Bible tells us that no one is saved by works (Eph. 2:8-9). Rather, we need to enjoy the Lord and allow Him to live in us (Gal. 2:20) – and then all these things will be spontaneously manifested in us. When Christ lives in us, we are not just a good man but a God-man, one who lives not just a good life but God’s life!
- The labor to worry, to be anxious – as long as you are a human being, you worry! We worry and are anxious all the time – we labor by worrying even more than labor in doing the things we worry about! You may spend hours each day being anxious and borrowing tomorrow’s or next year’s anxiety for today… Whether you have things or you don’t, whether you’re married or not, whether you have children or not, you worry about a lot of things! The insurance companies capitalize on people’s worry, and all the news feed our being anxious! The only way to escape anxiety is to enjoy the Lord! Cast all your anxieties on Him, for it matters to Him concerning you – and enjoy the Lord! When you enjoy the Lord, you are not anxious; when you don’t enjoy the Lord, you worry about things/people/situations!
- The labor of suffering – whether we want it or not, whether we deserve it or not, each one of us has a certain measure of suffering in our human life. Every human being suffers, no matter how healthy or unhealthy one is, no matter how rich or poor one is, and no matter how smart or not-so-smart one is. Even the apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7) and he asked the Lord to remove it three times! But the Lord’s answer was simple, “My grace is sufficient for you”. In our sufferings, if we enjoy the Lord, we are freed from the labor of suffering. The Lord may not remove the thorn in our flesh – He may not remove our suffering, but if we turn to Him to enjoy Him, our suffering will not be labor but something of the jubilee – we will be freed and at peace, full of satisfaction and joy!
This is the secret – in any kind of situation and in any kind of condition, we need to learn to enjoy the Lord! We need to learn to turn to Him – and we will be freed from any labor, any struggle or strife, and anything that enslaves us! In the age of the jubilee, all we need to do is NOT to work harder but to open to the Lord and enjoy God! Learn to contact this true and living Lord to enjoy Him!
[sharing inspired from the life-study of Luke, and, The Jubilee (by bro. Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on the Crystallization-Study of Isaiah(2)]
O, Lord, make us those who learn the secret! We want to learn to enjoy You in all things! Thank You for Your grace – God enjoyed by us! Thank You for Your availability! May we stop our labor and all our doing, all our strife, and all our struggling – just to enjoy You! O, Lord, to be content in all things – by enjoying You! Christ is the secret of our sufficiency! Christ is the secret of being content in all things and in all situations! More enjoyment of Christ today!
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