WORD From The Woods
Philippians 4:10-23
"I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
As Paul brings his letter to the Philippians to a close, he thanks them for all the support they have given to him during his ministry around the Roman Empire, both financial support and faithful prayers. We can glean a lot from this passage, on one hand we can learn a lot about giving from the example of the Philippian church. On the other hand we can learn much about how to trust in God's timing and provision according to His will by Paul's faithful example. The subject of giving is one that gets a lot of attention, I'm not going to get into it a lot right now. I'll just say that we should hold all that we have been given, our time, talents and resources, up to God with open hands so that He can take out, and add to as He sees fit. I really like what Paul says in this passage about trusting The Lord, "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." This may be one of the most often misquoted verses in all of scripture. People love to quote verse 13 without any regard to context of Paul's letter. We can do all things through Him who gives us strength, but according to God's will. People like to think that God will give us strength to do anything according to our own will. Paul was following God's leading when he was brought low and when he was brought high. Just because we're following God's will doesn't mean everything will be easy! Paul is a perfect example of this, God gave him strength to get through the many trials he faced but it wasn't always easy or fun. There are a lot of well know, polished preachers out there today that teach their congregation to just have enough faith and God will bless them with health and prosperity, and give them all the strength they need to conquer anything they face and come out smiling. I think Paul would beg to differ, he found out how to truly be content in plenty and in hunger, in suffering and in health. God had a greater plan for Paul that he probably couldn't see at the time, but when he wrote this letter, I'm certain that Paul could see the perfect hand of God directing his paths through the mountains and valleys of his life as he reflected back through the years. I know that as my family and I look back at what we have gone through in our life and business, we can clearly see the hand of God perfectly leading us, even when we thought we would never get through a situation He had everything under control. I hope that we can all learn to thank and praise God for the hard times even more than the prosperous times, because it is in our weakness that we really find the strength of God!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Philippians 4:10-23
"I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
As Paul brings his letter to the Philippians to a close, he thanks them for all the support they have given to him during his ministry around the Roman Empire, both financial support and faithful prayers. We can glean a lot from this passage, on one hand we can learn a lot about giving from the example of the Philippian church. On the other hand we can learn much about how to trust in God's timing and provision according to His will by Paul's faithful example. The subject of giving is one that gets a lot of attention, I'm not going to get into it a lot right now. I'll just say that we should hold all that we have been given, our time, talents and resources, up to God with open hands so that He can take out, and add to as He sees fit. I really like what Paul says in this passage about trusting The Lord, "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." This may be one of the most often misquoted verses in all of scripture. People love to quote verse 13 without any regard to context of Paul's letter. We can do all things through Him who gives us strength, but according to God's will. People like to think that God will give us strength to do anything according to our own will. Paul was following God's leading when he was brought low and when he was brought high. Just because we're following God's will doesn't mean everything will be easy! Paul is a perfect example of this, God gave him strength to get through the many trials he faced but it wasn't always easy or fun. There are a lot of well know, polished preachers out there today that teach their congregation to just have enough faith and God will bless them with health and prosperity, and give them all the strength they need to conquer anything they face and come out smiling. I think Paul would beg to differ, he found out how to truly be content in plenty and in hunger, in suffering and in health. God had a greater plan for Paul that he probably couldn't see at the time, but when he wrote this letter, I'm certain that Paul could see the perfect hand of God directing his paths through the mountains and valleys of his life as he reflected back through the years. I know that as my family and I look back at what we have gone through in our life and business, we can clearly see the hand of God perfectly leading us, even when we thought we would never get through a situation He had everything under control. I hope that we can all learn to thank and praise God for the hard times even more than the prosperous times, because it is in our weakness that we really find the strength of God!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-