"I Can Do All Things" November 18 Readings: Philippians 4

 

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2022

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but I have divided it so that we will spend half the year in the OT, and half the year in the NT. 

Bible Readings: Philippians 4   

Background:   

Our verse today is in the hall of fame of misinterpreted and misapplied verses. 

Daily Devotional:  I Can Do All Things

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

What a wonderful verse - and one that is much used in this world. I can hit a home run or score a touchdown through Christ who strengthens me. I can succeed in business through Christ who strengthens me. I can achieve this personal goal through Christ who strengthens me. I can stick to my diet through Christ who strengthens me.

We have turned Philippians 4:13 into a motivational mantra, a motto to be hung on the wall and to be remembered as we go through this world attempting to reach our goals, achieve our potential, find happiness and success and be all that we have hoped to be. And certainly, this verse has a wide application. God can empower us to do all that he calls us to do.

But the common motivational uses of this verse are not exactly what Paul intended when he wrote it (under the Spirit's inspiration).  Verses 11 and 12, which (obviously) immediately precede this favorite verse, provide the context.

 I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.

Paul was commending the Philippians for their generosity to him but clarified in these verses that his purpose was not just to seek money from them. He had learned to be content with whatever happened to him. Paul had experienced both abundance and lack. Sometimes, he had all that he needed, sometimes he did not. His goal was not the accumulation of possessions, but contentment in Christ.

When he says, "I can do all things through Christ," he is talking about handling anything this world throws at him. If he abounds, he will abound for the glory of God. If he is in need, he will continue to glorify God and serve him. His life was about doing all things for God's glory regardless of what happened to him. Facing plenty or hunger, he could do it all through the strength that Christ gave him.

And that is the key here. Paul was not saying that we should set our goals and appeal to Christ to be our source of strength as we reach them and do as we please. He was living in the will of God and accepting whatever God had for him. This verse is not about getting what I want or achieving my goals, but about living in God's will wherever that takes me.

It is a beautiful verse, of course, but it is a verse that must be set in its appropriate context, not ripped from that context and made to say what it doesn't say.

Father in heaven, may I accept your will and live in the peace that passes understanding and the contentment of Christ no matter what, knowing that whatever comes, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. 

 

Consider God's Word:

Are you willing to face all things life can bring to serve Christ, or do you expect that only good things will come your way because of your service to Christ?