Philippians 4:4-13
Highlighting – “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (v.13)
Paul in this passage aims to encourage the Philippians to remain steadfast in their faith. He tells them to keep their minds on Christ and allow His peace to preside over their lives in every way. How were they to do this? By focusing their attention on whatever is worthy of praise (v.8-9).
The verse that I am highlighting today is very popular and I believe often used regarding getting through or achieving what I would call, the “sweet” things in life. For instance, “I will do well on this exam because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” On one hand, that’s a great way to think and it’s very true that if we lean on Christ, blessings will flow into our lives. But, if we read the preceding verses 11 – 12, we see Paul can endure troublesome times due to Christ who gives him the strength to, this was the secret to his success. You see, as Christians we are not guaranteed a smooth and easy life, but we are promised eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. Paul experienced both being in need and having plenty, yet his joy and peace never wavered because he relied on the power of Jesus Christ working through him.
Sometimes we are seeking peace from God, but when we don’t have it, we wonder if God is hearing us. We wonder why we’re going through difficulty, when God might be using these situations to grab our attention and build our character – all for His glory. We can get through hardship when we keep our eyes on things above, not our present circumstances (Col 3:1-2).
Let’s look at Paul and Silas in Acts 16, they were thrown into prison for false accusations, and rather than being discouraged and turning their backs on God, they sang hymns and prayed (v.25). The other prisoners were listening to them, which says to us, those around us can learn from how we handle difficulty. Our ability to still give God the glory through the storms and keep a good attitude, will bring others to draw near to Him (Acts 16:29-30). We should give God thanks for ALL things (Eph 5:19-20). When we come to believe His grace is sufficient enough and fix our eyes on things above, He will sustain us through anything and everything in our lives. This is possible because we are not leaning on our own strength, but Jesus Christ, who strengthens us.
Dear God, help me to realize that even when I’m going through hard times that You are still with me. I want to lean on Your strength and not my own. If I trust in You, I’m guaranteed a joyous and successful life. God, I want to emulate Paul and Silas, who still worshipped You and prayed to You even when things seemed to be going wrong. May I bring more people to Christ through their observation of how I endure difficult times. Let Your light shine through me and Your glory be manifested through me. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
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