How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:10-13
“Paul’s point is that he has learned to live in either want or plenty through the enabling of Christ. Being in Christ, not being self-sufficient, has rendered both want and wealth of little or no significance…Either “want” or “wealth” can have a deleterious affect on one’s life, those in “want” because their “want” consumes them, those in “wealth” because their “wealth” does the same…Those in “want” learn patience and trust in suffering; those in “wealth” learn humility and dependence in prospering, not to mention the joy of giving without strings attached.”
Gordon Fee in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 435-436.
I love Fee’s expression that the Apostle Paul learned to live according to “the enabling of Christ” rather than levels of financial resources. The Apostle Paul is writing his letter to the Philippians about 30 years into his spiritual journey, so it is encouraging to know that it took him time to figure this out. He learned it through the ups and downs of life. We get to do the same thing.
This meditation will post about the time I arrive in Nairobi, Kenya. John Van Drunen and I have much teaching and many meetings scheduled here. We desire to bless all those we have come to serve with love. We are richly prepared because we count on “the enabling of Christ” not any measure of wealth. Pray for a fruitful week of ministry and service.