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b'What\\u2019s next?\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d The ever-present question, heard every time you change schools, pick classes, or choose what happens after high school.\\nWhen I\\u2019m asked this question, I sometimes think it means I\\u2019m not good enough: \\u201cI haven\\u2019t \\u2018arrived\\u2019 at where they think I should be. I don\\u2019t know \\u2018what\\u2019s next\\u2019! I was enjoying high school, but now I\\u2019m fixated on what comes after this.\\u201d\\nI find myself becoming discontent, no longer happy where I am. I start comparing myself to other people. They have so many things I don\\u2019t have. A nice car. A significant other. A cat. A dog. A plan!\\nAs I reflect on what others are doing, I get so focused on things I might do in the future that I lose sight of what God is doing in me right now.\\nWhen the apostle Paul was in prison, I\\u2019m sure he would sometimes look around and think of all the other things he could have been doing rather than sitting in a cell. In Philippians 4, after having been in chains for quite some time, he says he has \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153learned to be content whatever the circumstances\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (verse 11).\\nThat doesn\\u2019t mean he wasn\\u2019t thinking about what could happen if he were released from prison, but it didn\\u2019t consume him. Paul was excited about the possibilities, but he was also content where he was.\\nNotice Paul says he had to learn contentment (verses 11-12). It wasn\\u2019t like flipping a switch and everything was suddenly sunshine and roses. No, learning contentment was a process.\\nThe Holy Spirit worked in Paul all along. In Christ, Paul was able to rest in peace and joy, equipped to do the work God put before him\\u2026and even to dream about where God would call Him next. \\u2022 Kristi Dennis\\n\\u2022 Have you ever been asked about what\\u2019s next in your future? \\n\\u2022 Read Proverbs 3:5-6. How does it encourage you to know God is the One who can direct your steps?\\nI know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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. Philippians 4:12 (NIV)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nPhilippians 4:11-13'