I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

² I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. ³ Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. ⁹ The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. ¹² 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. ¹³ I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

¹⁵ You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; ¹⁶ for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. ¹⁸ But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. ²² All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.

²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

In Isaiah 6:1-3 it says:  In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”  In the presence of God’s holiness, from the perspective of heaven, regardless of the chaos, confusion and darkness of earth’s circumstances, the whole earth is filled with the glory of God. We need to view things, as the Seraphim, from the perspective of heaven, in view of God’s holiness, rather than man’s depravity. Today’s text says: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Psalm 37:4 says:  Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.  When we delight in the Lord, when we rejoice in Him, we bring ourselves into alignment with Him and His will. We not only see from the perspective of heaven, we also want what God wants. We have confidence when we pray. We are not anxious, knowing that we are praying in agreement with God’s will.

Paul says:  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. When we dwell on what is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, on excellence and what is worthy of praise, God will dwell and abide with us. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  “Indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”  Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. When we practice the things of God, His abiding presence is with us and in us, so we bring the kingdom of heaven to earth and fulfill the prayer of Jesus.

In John 14:12-14 Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.  Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”  It is not though only in doing the great works of Jesus, performing miracles, healing the sick and raising the dead that we do what Jesus did and bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. In today’s text   Paul says:  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.  It is through complete obedience and surrender to God and His will that we bring heaven to earth. It is in being content to live in the will of God day by day that we become like Jesus and do the things that He did. When we focus on only the great things, we miss the small things like the importance of showing mercy and compassion, like doing simple acts of service. Those too, are the things that Jesus did and they are the things that we will do if we will abide in God’s presence. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us. We must though, surrender both our weaknesses and our strengths to Him. When we work in our own strength, we fulfill the will of man not God. There are times when God’s greatest victories don’t look like victory on earth. In John 19:30 Jesus said: “It is finished!”  His death on the cross, looked like the end of God’s plan, it looked like God’s plan was over. But in reality it was the fulfillment of God’s plan. The finished work of the cross made the way for the kingdom of heaven to be done on earth.  We need to see God’s will from the perspective of heaven so that we can be God’s will be done on earth.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, I delight in You. I rejoice in You. I surrender to You and yield to Your will. I will be content to walk with You, whatever the circumstances so that Your will can be done and Your kingdom will come to earth as it is in heaven. I surrender both my weakness and my strength to You so that it is You who works through me. In the name of Jesus.  Amen.