Many of us have experienced times when everything seems to go wrong at once.
Every choice you make feels like the wrong one. You cannot seem to earn enough money to pay all the bills. Then you lose a loved one.
All within a month.
The world begins closing in around you. Yet everyone else seems to have their junk together, and everything appears to be going right for them.
It just does not seem fair.
God does not seem to hear you. Your life feels broken down, and you just want to give up.
Yet you know God is bigger than your circumstances. You are not ready to quit.
In times like these, we readily turn to Philippians 4:11-13:
“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.” — Philippians 4:11-13
More Than a Motivational Slogan
These verses appear on T-shirts, coffee mugs and motivational posters.
When we want to become a better boss or crank out one more set at the gym, we rattle off Philippians 4:13. We tell ourselves, “I can do this!”
However, is there a more frequently misquoted verse in the Bible than Philippians 4:13?
We pull this verse out of context and apply it to our lives so we can become better employees, students, athletes or simply better people.
But that is not Paul’s point.
This is not the testimony of someone who constantly succeeds. Instead, it is the testimony of a man who has Christ and finds in Him his source of joy, hope and strength in every circumstance.
As Paul writes these words, we cannot help but think about what he endured:
“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” — 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
Now place those experiences into the context of Philippians 4:11.
After nearly being beaten to death, Paul remains content.
Even after a stoning, he remains content.
A shipwreck does not take away his contentment.
Persecution may follow him everywhere, but Christ still gives him reason to remain content.
Paul is not content because everything is going right. He is content in the worst moments imaginable because his hope rests securely in Christ.
This is the anti-prosperity gospel.
Paul does not place his hope in doing greater things, becoming richer or having his best life now. He places it in Jesus, who endured the cross and rose from the dead in power.
We can never see, taste or touch our deepest source of contentment.
A Life That Shouts About Grace
In times of unrelenting trial, we taste a grace and hope that can come only from Christ. We begin to understand mercy and love in ways we never have before.
Imagine if Paul had never endured the suffering described in 2 Corinthians 11.
Would Philippians 4:13 carry the same weight if his life included only success and prosperity?
No.
Now imagine your own life.
Do the people around you want to hear you wax eloquent about God’s love and grace while you drive a BMW and dress like a Gucci model?
No. People want to punch you in the face.
A life marked by contentment during trial and frustration glorifies God alone because this kind of contentment does not come from the world.
When you find unending hope in Christ during life’s darkest moments, your life shouts about God’s grace.
Find satisfaction, joy and contentment in Christ alone, and you will be able to weather the most violent storm.
Let your contentment rest in Him, and others will see His grace lived out through you.
Place your hope in Him, and you will change the world.