Him Who Strengthens Me

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

In times of spiritual need, God is faithful to remind us of that which we need to hear when we need to hear it. Over this past weekend, God provided me with three different sources of comfort and confirmation on the passages above. I knew then this would be the scripture for the posting today, if only to share the blessings I received from Him. Let’s break down the separate verses:

Vs 11. Not that I speak from want, Paul's joy was not because he was short of money and their contribution had taken care of his needs, although this was apparently the case because he was in prison in Rome, but because of the flourishing of their thoughtfulness toward him. In other words, his joy is not selfish, but derives solely from his thoughts of them and the “proof” of their godly care for him. For I have learned to be content in whatever state I am, Paul is saying that he had learned by the teaching of the Holy Spirit and by divine providence to be content in whatever state he found himself. Autarkes, the Greek word for “content,” appears only here in the New Testament. The word literally means “sufficient for one's self, strong enough to need no aid or support.” Paul did not claim his self-sufficiency originated with himself, or that it had anything to do with his own wisdom or power. He was independent of circumstances, thus self-sufficient, because of his trust in and dependence on the Lord. It is important to note he said he, “I have learned to be content” because none of us are born with that ability. From the moment a baby is born, that is obvious. We are born crying for what we want when we want it. No one has to teach us about ‘instant gratification’; it is ‘…learning to be content in whatever state’ we must learn.

Vs 12. I know how to get along with humble means, In the Hebrew-Greek Bible from which I took passage, get along with humble means is defined in this scripture as ‘in the passive, to be abased, brought low.’ The Greek word for ‘abased’ means ‘to make low, to reduce to meaner (leaner) circumstances.’ The apostle had learned to accept his abased circumstances in a gracious, uncomplaining spirit (II Corinthians 4:8; 6:9,10). How often can we say we are accepting of our times of being abased and doing without in a gracious, uncomplaining spirit? Unless we are taught by the Holt Spirit, as was Paul, we default to grumbling and whining more often than not. And I also know how to live in prosperity. Paul, as a faithful Christian, did not let poverty degrade him nor prosperity exalt him. We, too, need to know our value as a person in Christ is not dependent on what we have or lack. We are not ‘less than’ just because we have less than the next guy. When God looks at us, He does not line us up as priorities based on our financial status. It is sad that some organizations, churches or people give special consideration to those with more bucks in hopes of gaining from them, but this is not a godly mentality, this is the human flesh thinking we are to avoid.  ..in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both having abundance and suffering need. Whether full or hungry, prosperous or poor, Paul had learned to conduct himself as a trusting, loving disciple of the Lord. Remember Paul back when he was called Saul and persecuting Christians? In the transformation from Christian killer to the apostle now writing as he sat in chains in prison, we can see change possible only when the love of Christ and ministering teachings from the Holy Spirit are manifested. He was a willing and eager student who became a great teacher for the cause of spreading the gospel.

Vs 13. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Boy, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve prayed this scripture! It is a statement of faith in Christ that says in all the circumstances of life Paul was convinced that he could bear fruit to the glory of God through the strength the Lord gave him. I count on Christ to strengthen me and I pray my actions and behavior bear fruit of the glory of God. I fall short of that mark and my ‘fruit’ gets squeezed sometimes but He helps me up when I fall, brushes me off and forgives me. What a sweet and precious experience!