There are certain Bible verses that make good soundbites, and Philippians 4:13 is one of them: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
As a result you’ll find this verse on posters, mugs, t-shirts and so on, and no doubt it’ll get quoted frequently whenever someone finds themself facing a challenge. Struggling at work? “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Got a difficult essay due in forty-eight hours? “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Trying to push through the last five minutes of that intense workout session? “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
Look, generally I’m not against people quoting the Bible as a means of encouragement, but this is one of those verses that – lifted from its context – can become some kind of meaningless platitude or, even worse, something we seize on in order to claim God’s blessing for whatever self-serving agenda we have. Got an important job interview coming up, which will result in a huge pay increase and a nice massage of the ego? “I can do anything through him who gives me strength.”
So, according to Paul, what is the ‘anything’ that can be done through God? Well, it’s right there in the verse that goes before – “…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” In short, Philippians 4:13 is not a verse about being able to get what we want, it’s a verse about being content even when we don’t get what we want. That’s what we can do through God’s strength – learn the secret of being content in any and every situation. It’s not a verse we should be quoting to give us a boost before we take on a challenge, it’s a verse we should be quoting to encourage peace when we fail a challenge.
And isn’t that something incredibly precious? Not to always have what we want, but to have peace regardless of what we do have?
Now, bearing all that in mind, I’m off to vote…
