Dealing With Circumstances

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!”                      —Philippians 2:8

I vividly remember waiting for a table at a popular restaurant a few years ago. A large number of people were ahead of me. As I waited, I recognized friends from church so I walked over and chatted a few minutes. When the hostess called their names, someone much farther down the list ran up and began to complain that they had come in long before my friends. I actually think they might have been referring to me. They were so forceful with their protest that my friends retreated in fear, and said, “Please take our table. We don’t want any trouble.” My friends were the next ones seated—no harm done, but Darlene and I seemed to wait forever.

I had an appointment in an hour and could delay no longer. Not only was the line long, but the service was very slow. (It makes me wonder why this was such a popular restaurant.) I asked the hostess how close my name was to the top. She replied, “Oh, I seated you ten minutes ago.” “No you didn’t. I’m still standing here.” At this point, I still hadn’t lost my cool. I calmly considered my options. Even if they seated me that second, the service was so slow that I would never make my appointment. So we went to the restaurant next door which had equally good food and better service but not the “cool-factor” popularity.

We cannot always control our circumstances, but we can surely control our attitudes in dealing with those circumstances. I kept my cool at the restaurant, but it probably wasn’t due to me being a Christian. I was utterly spellbound at how crazily the events played out. Sometimes in difficult circumstances, the only thing we can change is our attitude. Often that makes all the difference in the world. There are times, however, when we must and should change our circumstances. We may be employed in a difficult situation that we need to change, but we don’t have to have a bad attitude as we leave.

Philippians 2:5 exhorts us to have the attitude of Jesus Christ. The next few verses help us understand some of the challenges Christ faced and the attitude with which He faced them. “And being found in the appearance as a man” (2:8), describes that as Jesus chose to give up His position of equality with God, He found Himself in the circumstances of being a mere human. Human beings who fall from a high position or privilege usually respond with self-pity or critical finger pointing.

When Jesus found Himself in such a lowered status, He took on the role of a servant, humbled Himself, and became obedient. You and I may often do the right thing, but not always with the right attitude. Jesus did the right thing, obedience, and with the right attitude, humility. There is an old saying, “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you are surrounded by a flock of turkeys.” Jesus was surrounded by miracle-seeking crowds, an unbelieving family, and religious and political enemies, yet He did the will of God with the joy of the Lord in His heart.

How are you handling the circumstances you find yourself in today? Are you doing the right thing? Sometimes, that is all we worry about, but how’s your attitude as you deal with your circumstances? Few, if any of us, have resisted sin to the point of death, and none of us have experienced the descent into humility as Christ did. Let us call upon God and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the attitude of Christ as we deal with the circumstances that God allows us to experience.