LentBlog ’14 Day 3: Paul’s Little Secret.

Philippians 4:10-20.

My thoughts as I read this passage tonight focus on the first part:

10 I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. ¹²I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. ¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ¹⁴In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress.

NRSV

Paul thanks the church in Philippi for helping him through gifts to support his ministry. He thanks them and says how excited he is they have sent another gift, not because he needs it, but because it’s a good spiritual discipline on their part. One could do a whole stewardship thing here, but that’s not the main thing this passage is saying to me this evening.

Paul talks about how he doesn’t really need their gift: He’s content no matter what he has. Whether hungry or well-fed, whether he has a lot or very little, he’s learned a secret, he says.

And here’s the secret: “I can do all things though Christ who gives me strength.” This stopped me in my tracks a little tonight, though I’ve heard it preached tons of times and quoted maybe thousands of times. V. 13 is one people tend to pull out and make t-shirts, memes, and sympathy cards with. It’s an important verse.

But it’s even more important and potent when we leave it in it’s context. Paul says whether he has a lot or nothing, whether he’s hungry or full, he draws his strength from Christ. Now, that’s easy to rely on when our tank is empty or when we need a pick-me-up or something. It’s another thing entirely to acknowledge our strength comes from Christ when we aren’t in need. 

Paul says the secret is to understand we do all things through the strength that comes from Christ. Is he hungry? Yeah, maybe… but his strength comes from the Lord. Did he just come from a feast? Meh. The source of his strength is still Jesus, not food or well-being.

The good news here is being poor, hungry, or in-need cannot rob us of the true source of our strength, which is Christ. That also means if we aren’t poor, hungry, or in-need, we needn’t hold on to those things so tightly. They aren’t the source of our strength anyway.

I wonder what kind of number God could do in our lives, families, and churches if we incorporated (that’s a cool word, by the way… to incorporate means “to embody”) Paul’s secret.