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I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
If you ask me statistics is an art form more than anything else, the reason that I say this is because one can take the numbers provided and just about make them say whatever they want them to. The same report and statistics can be used to argue both sides of a debate, so what does this have to do with Scripture and Philippians 4:13 specifically? Well it is said you can also get the Bible to say just about anything you want it to, the problem is that you often have to take things out of context to do so, and Philippians 4:13 is one such verse that is often used out of context.
So what does it mean when we state that we “can do all things through him who strengthens me?” Well first let’s look at what it does not mean. Well oftentimes this verse is used to encourage believers when they are about to face some large trial, such as athletes in sporting events; in fact there is a Christian clothing brand that specializes in fitness clothes that uses this verse for branding. Let me say right now I am not saying there is anything wrong purchasing such things, but we should also keep in mind what the verse is really saying as it means so much more than God helping us do what we set our minds to.
So what is Paul getting at? Well if you look at the verses preceding this one you see Paul talking about in generalizations stuff that he had been through; times of plenty and times of poverty, having food and looking for crumbs, and through it all Paul learned to be content because God would give him the strength to make it through whatever circumstance he found himself in.
You see it is not God helping us do what we have in mind, but God giving us the mind to work where He has us. The problem with verses like this is we often want to stress the part about ourselves rather than what God is actually doing in the verse. So no matter what your circumstances are, whether they are circumstances of blessing or circumstances of trials God will give you the strength and comfort to help you through and be content with where you are. So in all circumstances, whether it is those of blessings or those of trials give them over to God to help you be content with where you are, because we can easily fall into the trap of not being content with where we are at in any aspect of our lives.
