August 13

Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. — Ps 143:10 BSB

Life is filled with potential, with countless opportunities to do good, which makes living a glorious thing. We should make the most of our lives, striving to become the people Christ calls us to be and doing the sweet, loving things He would have us do as we go along the way.

However, the lessons of life must be learned slowly. Paul, late in life, said, “I have learned, in whatever state I am, therein to be content.” His words suggest that this lesson didn’t come easily but required time and struggle. It’s likely that Paul wouldn’t have been able to write this in his earlier letters. There’s comfort in this for us. If we, in our youth or middle age, feel discouraged because we haven’t yet reached Paul’s level of contentment, we can take heart. If we are truly learning the lesson, there’s hope that someday we, too, will be able to say, “I have learned to be content.”