Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
- Philippians 4:11-13
In the above passage of scripture the Apostle Paul proclaims to have learned to be content in whatever circumstances and situation he is in. It is what it is, I'm right where I'm supposed to be at the moment, and I'm OK with that, even when that it difficult or lacking in some way. Verses 11-12 should really always be considered when we grab onto the hope of the famous verse 13, which literally means in all situations I am strong in the anointed One living in me.
Now, the context and Greek of Philippians 4:13 may be a bit disappointing for those who like to use I can do all things in Christ as a ritual victory mantra. I'm worried about this or that difficulty, well that's OK I'll overcome and come out on top and win because I can do all things. If by come out on top you mean get the job, the car will crank every day, the pantry will always be full, etc. then that is not what the verse means at all. Remember that Paul wrote the letter to Philippians from a Roman prison cell. But if by overcome you mean stay spiritually free, be content and satisfied in relationship with Daddy, be able to endure it without trying to meet your own needs in an old way but letting the situation bring you closer to Jesus and become more like Him, then yes, that's what it means. I can endure anything and be satisfied by my relationship with and service to God, without falling apart because I don't have what I want or what I think I need.
And that's awesome news for those in recovery who are anything like me. And here, when I use the word recovery, I am talking about that spiritual malady which produces a hopeless state of mind and body. That's pretty much all of us, right? For a lot of us, we tried to treat and fix that malady with something that took over our life, placed us in bondage, an addiction of some sort. We had a God shaped hole, and tried to fill it with things that promised to make us happy, comfortable or secure, or at least make us not care if we weren't. And some of it worked, at least for a while. But we were never content. We were never comfortable in our skin, in our life. Things were never OK as they were. The bad, uncomfortable and unpleasant had to be changed, escaped and doctored, while even the good had to be enhanced.
Even when our selfish solutions quit working, we found ourselves still trying to apply them in times of need and stress and fear. When things got hard or scary, we reached for the chemicals or the risk or the pleasure or the whatever that had long since ceased to provide comfort or escape and left us feeling miserable and even more hopeless. Life wasn't worth living, and we had no understanding of what it meant to be OK with life regardless of the situations. In good situations and bad, we were filled with restlessness, irritation and discontent.
It doesn't have to be that way. That's the awesome good news that we get in Philippians 4:11-13. We can be content in all situations. We can be content even when we don't get what we need, want, or what will make us comfortable. We don't have to be afraid of the difficulties we face breaking us or placing us back in bondage to the things which used to control us, the things we were powerless over and were our instinctual go-to answer before we found relationship with Daddy. Why? Because we are no longer powerless. We are strong, have power, in Jesus, in the Anointed Spirit that has actually made His home within us.
Perhaps you like that way that sounds but have a hard time trusting it for yourself. After all, this is the Apostle Paul who wrote this. This man was a religious zealot who was by all appearances blameless according to the rules of the beliefs he was raised in, well-respected in life even before He had a vision of Jesus so bright it knocked him down and blinded him. He's a saint for goodness sake! I'm no Apostle Paul, and I'm no saint. So, I'm not sure that I can really hope this will be true for me like it was with him. Well, if by saint you mean strong in faith, able to obey and stay in the will of God and faithful all the time, spiritually powerful and nearly perfect, then no, no you're not a saint. Neither was Paul or any of the other so-called saints, at least not on their own. All have sinned and fallen short. On our own, we are all powerless to walk with God, to conquer sin and self. But with the power of the Spirit within us, because of who Jesus is and what He has done, we are saints, as in those chosen by and belonging to Daddy who have the power to become His children, and can walk rightly and with obedience and love because we no longer live in our own strength but by His.
It's not for some special spiritual people only. It's for all of us who surrender will and life to the One who has the power to save us and transform us. The first 12-Step book, Alcoholics Anonymous, sometimes referred as The Big Book, said it like this:
He clamors for this or that, claiming he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are cared for. Nonsense. Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job - wife or no wife - we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.
Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house.
And in the days of the Old Testament an adulterer and murderer also found hope and satisfaction in repentance and relationship with the Creator. King David said the truth of Philippians 4:13 long before Paul, and even took it a bit further.
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
- Psalm 16:5-6
Huh? Yeah, this is written in some of that metaphorical language that makes it not so blunt as Paul's writing. David was a poet after all. The Lord is what we have and receive that makes life worth living, relationship with Him is the answer to the need and the promise we long for. That's the part from the Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup. It's not blind fortune or luck that makes things happen in my favor or gives me what I need, God brings it about. That's the You support my lot part. In the times of Moses, the people received their inheritance by casting lots, by drawing out of the hat, after the property lines were drawn, and they believed that God oversaw each drawing, supported the lot, so that each person and group got what God wanted for them.
But it's verse 6 that really is the same wonderful idea as what Paul wrote, perhaps better. The lines have fallen to me...the boundaries of my part in life, what and where and God has placed me and chosen for me and led me to, where I am in whatever situation and circumstances that come when I am in the will of God, even if that is in prison like Paul or hungry and in need because there isn't enough materially or physically, I am in a pleasant place. The life God has given me is beautiful. It's worth living. Even though there were many battles fought in and for the Land of Promise, even though there were hard times and famine, it's worth it, it's pleasant and beautiful, because it it in relationship with God that we take pleasure and find purpose. Later in that same Psalm, David says that in the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy.
Our joy is not in having every physical and material need met and every desire satisfied. It's not in mental, emotional or physical comfort and security. Our joy is not found in the rain stopping and having the sun shine and a cool breeze blow. It's not in everything going our way. It is found in the presence of God in our life. That's why, to stay free and strong in every situation and circumstance, to stay in recovery come what may, even when our circumstances go to hell in a hand basket, we seek to improve our conscious contact with our Creator. It is in relationship and presence with Him that we can be content...that's not the spiritual heroes of old, that's me, and that's you and all who surrender to Him.
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