Still Quarrying - Sharing the Strength

Fergus Buchanan May 22, 2025 0 0

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It wasn’t a day loaded with interest and incident. Dropped off by my chauffeuse for an early appointment at the Beatson, a train from Hyndland to Queen Street, a wander round some shops, lunch at the Wild Olive Tree, and then the real reason for being in town: an urgently needed haircut. What surprised me was how content I was just to drift along in this bubble, no pressure to be places or to see people.  

Contentment has been a big challenge for me over the past five years. Time and again I have turned to Paul’s challenging words:

‘ . . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances . . . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.’  (Philippians 4: 11-13)

I’ve often thought of this as learning to sit through the challenging things in faith, knowing that you are in good hands medically, and trusting in the unfailing love of God and His good purpose for your life whether you live or die.  

The temptation is to indulge in a kind of spiritual navel gazing. Someone once said that when you have a toothache you are only thinking of two people: yourself and the dentist. That’s understandable but do you really want that attitude to define your life? Whatever you are going through you are not the centre of the universe. You need to work at maintaining a wider perspective.  

The challenge to be content in my circumstances is different to the Ukrainian waking up and wondering if she will have a roof over her head by the end of the day. Or the Christian in a country where the Gospel isn’t welcome gripped with anxiety that the knock on the door means imprisonment and torture. Or the addict whose whole being is consumed by the need for a drink or a fix or a visit to the bookie. You can pile up the examples of those whose challenges place contentment as far away as a distant planet.  

So where does this leave me? Maybe I can take the strength I receive as a resource to reach out to others who are struggling. Like the man I met in the waiting place at the clinic. He had a number of health problems even apart from his cancer and was anxious about the future. But he told me he was grateful for the chat we had. It was a small thing, but it underlines where all Christian spirituality should lead. It’s not just about feeling good within yourself but being aware of others in their pain, finding room for them in our lives, giving what we ourselves have received.  

Back to Paul:

‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we have ourselves received from God.’  (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4)

Fergus Buchanan