Description
In Philippians 4:13, Paul invites us to redefine our entire perspective, through the truth of the gospel.
Philippians 4… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Let’s meditate on Philippians 4, verse 13: I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
This is a verse that is easy to take out of context, to claim that we can do all things, anything we want to, anything we put our minds to, we can do it through Christ because he’s strengthening us. And I don’t think that’s what Paul is saying here.
What he’s just said, he’s just talked about in this letter in Philippians, in this chapter, he said how he learned how to be with plenty and without, how he learned to be in suffering and in joy. And he’s learned in all of these circumstances to face them with Jesus: how Jesus changes his perspective and helps him to deal with life.
So when he says, he can do all things through him who strengthens me, he’s saying that he can face all these trials, he can face all these blessings through his faith in Jesus, knowing that Jesus is with him, knowing that the Holy Spirit of God is living in him.
And that is what enables him to face the highs and the lows equally, knowing that he is secure, knowing that he has a destiny that he is fulfilling.
So we can do all things, all the things that we have to face in our days, in our weeks, in our years, we can face them with Jesus. When things seem wonderful, we can face them with Jesus saying, "Thank you, Lord, for blessing us and please help these things not to change me for the worse. I need to keep relying on you."
And then in the low times, when we’re down, when we’re despairing, when we’re grieving, we can say, "Thank you, thank you, God, for walking with me through all these trials."
We can do all things through Jesus, strengthening us. What a wonderful promise. Thank you, God.
