Everything's Possible - 33

Philippians 4:10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

15 As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. 16 Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. 17 I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.

These are some of the most quoted texts in scripture. 4:13, in particular, is a famous text, but all of it is important for us to understand Paul, his mindset, his understanding of well-being, and how we might understand how we can live. 

The overarching theme is that Paul is not a victim of his circumstances, but he has found a way to be content, to have well-being, regardless of what is happening around him and what is happening to him. He can find joy, peace, and happiness through it all because he is not living for this world, for the future, or anything else other than for Christ and what Christ would have him do. He has found the secret, and it does not lie within us but in Christ's purpose for us. 

When he finally understood this, no hardship might harm him or stop him from his purpose and his calling. He could endure anything, suffer through all of it, and find peace and joy within it as he was no longer living for anything that this world might have to offer him. His life was now fully committed to the cause of Christ, and while he knew full well that he might die for this cause, it was something that he had not only come to peace with but understood as a present reality. 

He is thankful for their help, but his worry is not for himself; rather, it is for them and their anxiety about the help they have sent him. So Paul thanks them and lets them know that he is just fine, and they don’t need to worry about anything—as he no longer has to worry about anything either. 

1. Have you ever felt this way? 
2. What is your secret to being content in all situations? 
3. How can this text give you hope in the midst of suffering?