Philippians 4:1–23

May 08, 2013

So, what are we as Christians to do? Stand strong!  No matter what is going on around you—STAND STRONG! Not in your own strength and power. Stand strong in the LORD.

Paul lists how we should live:

• Stand strong
• Be joyful in the Lord ALWAYS!
• Be gentle
• Be kind
• Do not worry about anything
• Pray often
• Ask God for what you need
• Be God-reliant not self-sufficient
• Give thanks ALWAYS

And the result of living the way Christ wants us to live? Peace! God's peace. Peace that only He can give. Philippians 4:7 - "And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Think about these things:

• What is good
• What is worthy of praise (GOD)
• What is true
• What is honorable
• What is right
• What is beautiful
• What is respected

Think—and then DO! God will give HIS peace to you.

Paul concludes his letter to the people in Philippi. He thanks them for their help. He tells them what all he has learned during his walk as a follower of Christ. What Paul learned (and what each of us can learn as well) can only be learned by totally surrendering to God. Paul learned it during the hard and difficult times in his life.

The "hard times" is often when we are the most open to learning what God wants to teach us as well. It is during those times:

• We can learn to be satisfied with what we have 
• We can learn to be satisfied with whatever happens
• We can know how to live when we have plenty
• We can know how to live when we are poor
• We can learn the secret of how to be happy—no matter what
• We can learn our circumstances don't determine our happiness—whether there is enough to eat or there isn't, if we have more than we need or if we don't have enough

 We can learn all those things when we learn this:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

It is not our strength—it is HIS. 

I vividly remember a time when I was on the brink of a breaking point. I was absolutely buried under the paperwork of the lawsuit. Buried. It was overwhelming and I felt like I was drowning in "the storm." (Part of the plan of my sister, brother-in-law and their lawyer was to overwhelm us with their demands during the discovery process.) I was driving home from making copies of (and numbering) literally thousands of pages of documentation. As I was driving, I KNEW I could not in my own strength handle the demands placed upon us. This verse came to my mind and I said it over and over and over again. I would emphasize the next word in the verse each time I said it.

I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me. I CAN do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me. I can DO all things through Christ who strengtheneth me. I can do ALL things through Christ who strengtheneth me. I can do all THINGS through Christ who strengtheneth me. I can do all things THROUGH Christ who strengtheneth me. I can do all things through CHRIST who strengtheneth me. I can do all things through Christ WHO strengtheneth me. I can do all things through Christ who STRENGTHENETH me. I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth ME.  

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENETH ME. Over and over all the way home. The peace of God came over me and I KNEW I could do it. Not because of my strength because my strength was gone. I couldn't do it—BUT GOD COULD! And He did.

Tears come to my eyes. Partly because I am remembering some of the painful details from that time in our lives, but the tears are not only because of the pain. The tears are also in recognition of what all God did to carry us through that extremely difficult time, and the joy, peace, and contentment He has given to us both then and now. He has taught us so many things, and it has been worth it all.

Paul explained an important truth to the people of Philippi and that is the importance of "giving." Life is not about "getting," it is about "giving." What pleasure there is in giving to others from an open hand as opposed to having a closed fist. God knows what we need. Philippians 4:19–20 - "My God will use his wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need. Glory to our God and Father forever and ever! Amen."

It truly is ALL about HIM!

*****

Philippians is over. I can't believe how fast the books are flying by. There isn't much left.  It is almost scary. I can't imagine being done with journaling through the Bible since it has been part of my everyday life for almost three and one half years now. I will probably be done by the end of summer.  I wonder what will be next?

Addendum: 9/21/16 ~ Now it has been almost seven years since I started reading through the Bible and writing my thoughts. It turns out I wasn't "done" when I finished writing in my journals. Instead, it was The Beginning. And here I am today, once again finishing up with Philippians, and once again feeling like time is flying by with only one and one half journals left to enter into Blogger.

I know at least a portion of what is "next."

See:
LORD – What Am I to Do?;
The LORD Answers!;
I Didn't Know—BUT GOD DID!!

I don't know the when. I don't know the how. I only know that God has it all under control. We will follow Him even if our next steps are not clear. He will make the way, and we will follow. 


Next Entry: Colossians 1:1 – 2:5