“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”Philippians 4:10-20 NKJV
Lately I have been connecting with God’s Word via a YouTube channel titled “Emet Bible Journey.” The narrator reads different chapters from all parts of God’s Word, one full chapter at a time, over some quiet, ambient music. For example, I might hear Psalm 23, followed by Romans 8, followed by Hebrews 11, followed by Psalm 91, followed by Matthew 6, followed by Isaiah 40… and so on. One common chapter, along with the ones listed above, that I have heard across multiple different videos that this channel has uploaded is Philippians 4. Especially given my previous struggles over the last few years regarding a specific verse in the middle of the chapter, listening to somebody read through it slowly, clearly, and calmly, it has given me a fresh perspective, not only with that particular verse, but also with the entire section from which it comes.
What stands out to me is that Paul is writing to the church in Philippi from a place of deep gratitude and contentment. (“Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.”) I am rather amazed that, at this point in time, none of the other churches that Paul had witnessed to provided for his need, except for this church. I do not know whether or not Paul is deeply disappointed in the other churches, except that by faith he is choosing to trust God to provide in the face of said disappointment. As God through Paul has stated elsewhere:
“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”I Corinthians 11:1 NKJV
But through persistent obedience, no matter what life is thrown at him, through Christ Paul demonstrates what many consider the keystone verse of this chapter:
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”Philippians 4:13 NKJV
To this end, this particular verse is indeed a challenge to me, to trust in Christ’s strength to endure when others twist the word of God, whether in part or full, to suit their own personal agendas. By focusing on Jesus, and doing everything I can to walk in obedience to him, I can learn to truly walk in that ability to do all things because I trust in His strength. But lest I get ahead of myself, I echo what Paul wrote earlier in his letter to the church at Philippi:
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”Philippians 3:12 NKJV
I suspect that this is a key reason I have often heard other believers state: I am a work in progress. I along with them state this because it is the truth. Do I actually believe I can do all things? By no means, unfortunately. In fact, it has been a key wound in my life for far longer than anybody has known, aside from the Lord. But for the nine years I spent in intensive group therapy, along with periodic weekend intensive retreats, I was privileged to have the opportunity to pursue growth in certain specified areas of life where I knew I was either still in pain or still held back. By God’s grace, I got to see, experience, and then walk the roadmap that the counseling center provided for me to learn and practice the ability to do all things through Christ who would strengthen me as I walked it out.
This most recent Sunday, after the service, the entire church was invited to get in line to receive prophetic prayer from an individual who was particularly gifted as such. Both my wife and I received prayer and words that were encouraging, uplifting, as well as clarifying and focusing. Because of confidentiality, I will not be sharing any of that here, but what I will say is that some of these words were answers to a groaning inside of me that had been growing for a little while. In short, much of the groaning is related to my wanting to know what my purpose is.
One of the other main themes from the service, both from the sermon message that was preached, as well as a reminder during the time of prophecy, was to stand guard and know that not everything that other people say will be true, let alone encouraging. It was so powerful because I realize that a lot of my wrestling has not only been with different interpretations of Philippians 4:13, but also with a lot of spiritual matters which can be traced back to my having fallen victim to believing other people’s lies. It was really good to in a sense get confirmation of the lie that Philippians 4:13 would ever be meant to give people license to do whatever they want, because they “can do anything through Christ who” would strengthen them, or license to pressure others to do their bidding, because somehow Christ would “strengthen” them in the process. (And this is trickier because, yes, in times of emergency and/or need, Christ would indeed strengthen the other person on the receiving end, because He cares for what they’re going through. But I daresay that He would not be pleased at all with the first person trying to pressure the other person!)
The more I get into God’s Word, the more convinced I am that it is next to impossible to truly understand its truth and its power without first really grasping the context in which everything was written. Use Scripture to interpret Scripture. I’m not going to pretend that I am anywhere close to faultless in practicing this myself, but aside from confirmed direct revelation I don’t see any other way.
“This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.””
II Corinthians 13:1 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/2co.13.1.NKJV
[And, for those who want to comment on how even I will post single-verse Bible quotes, do note how I often include links so you can look up the context yourself. Like in this last example, for instance.]
I’m sure there will be a Part 2 to this post someday. There are other parts of this chapter that are becoming clearer to me as well, but what I have written up until this point will be sufficient for today.
