The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Philippians 4:13,
As Paul thanks his friends in Philippi for the help and support they sent, he assures them his focus is on the credit from the Lord they receive for their kind gift, their support to him. In that he had learned to be content in whatever situation, he was free to turn his attention to these more lofty concerns. He says his ability to be content, whatever his circumstances, was through "him who gives me strength."
So, who was this who gave him strength? Paul makes an interesting observation about himself in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "He [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul boasted of his weaknesses so that "Christ's power" would "rest" on him!
I understand from this that when, in humility, Paul admitted to his weaknesses, the Lord would strengthen him as he had need. As Peter, in 1 Peter 5:5 quoted Proverbs 3:34, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.", we recognize that the Lord does special things when we humble ourselves. Paul had tapped into this reality. As he admitted or confessed his weaknesses to the Lord, the Lord would empower him with his own strength for the purposes he had for Paul.
The One who gave Paul strength as he had need of it was the Lord. We are told to likewise tap in to this strength. Paul tells his readers in Ephesians 6:10, "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." I am a firm believer in that as we need strength, if we humble ourselves before the Lord, he will empower us with his own strength to accomplish those things he desires us to do.
Fascinating, isn't it?!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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