Week 39
Philippians 4:13 (Amplified) “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me – I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, (that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency).”
Christianity is not positive thinking, and it is not a method of establishing self-sufficiency. No religion or ideology in human history identifies and describes with such blistering detail the sin and moral failure of humanity as Christianity.
However, we come to a passage like Philippians 4:13 and we may be surprised to see that Christianity is the factual basis for the most positive good news the world will ever hear about human capability and capacity.
The Apostle Prisoner, Paul, writing in prison with all its horrible accouterments and human-stifling characteristics, gives the most glorious and hopefully good news. He has endured some of life’s most difficult and tragic injustices, and yet, note how positively he sees life in this fallen world.
Paul’s positive attitude comes not from self-sufficiency but from Christ’s sufficiency in him. Paul no longer lives the former life he had before his conversion. Now Paul says, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). He is a dead man to his former life, and he is a resurrected man living in the life of Christ. Christ is in him forming the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Paul sees himself as a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). He no longer is self-actualized or self-determined. Now he is a bond-slave of Jesus Christ, living the life of Christ in and through his personal redeemed humanity (The references Paul makes in his New Testament epistles to his being a bond-slave of Christ are too many to reference here).
For the Christian, Christ’s life in him is the source of eternal joy and hope. In Christ and through Christ Christians have the power to face and overcome the fiercest temptations and trials. In and through Christ we have the providential care we need to fight against worry and anxiety for the future. In Christ, we have righteousness applied to us to face death and the judgment of a righteous and holy God. In Christ, we have everything we need in this life and in the life to come. Christ promises to be with us each step of our earthly journey, and it is Christ who is preparing a place for us in heaven. It is in Christ that we have the assurance that our eternal destiny and joy are undeniably and irreversibly secured. It is in Christ and through Christ that we can face today’s problems and tomorrow’s terrifying possibilities, and we can face these things with peace and aplomb. Our confidence is firm and fueled in Jesus Christ!
Christian friend, do not despair, no matter what may come. Look to Christ and Christ alone for your salvation and your security in this life. All is well because Christ IS our life. You CAN make it, and you WILL make it.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please grant that I will face each day and the challenges of each day with the confidence that comes from knowing that You are my Savior, my Deliverer, my Hope, and my Friend. Thank You for Your love for me and Your care for me. Amen.