True Strength

True Strength

Philippians 4:12-13 NIV

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

This is not one of the most popular of messages in the Bible, but for the sake of balanced teaching, it will be good to learn a few lessons from the life of Paul, which will aid our walk with God and our understanding of his purposes. Paul was never a man to settle for the mediocre or the ordinary; whatever he was asked to do, he did it fervently, either initially out of misdirected zeal or ignorance, and later out of directed focus and spiritual energy. He was hardworking, he was diligent, he was a tentmaker. Even while preaching the gospel in faraway lands, he kept on working, supplying his needs through the skills of his hands. You would then wonder why he could talk about going hungry, or being in want. It just did not gel with the picture we have of a fervent, hardworking man.

If there's anything I have learnt in my life, it is that all the circumstances that would come my way must have one end-purpose in view: the glory of God. All that I seek, pursue or labour for must bring glory to God. All that he allows or permits is for his glory, not my own lifting.  It therefore means that even in lack or in need or in abundance, God is always at work, seeking to show off his glory in any life totally surrendered to him. He determines the course of the journey and the events along the way, and any lessons learnt is a message to the world that God is at work. Atimes, God speaks loudest in lack, and atimes, you hear him clearly in the midst of plenty. Ultimately, what is important is what God says about what he has allowed, so that the lessons he desires to teach are learnt, and the lives that require to be impacted are impacted. If I understand that my life is not my own, then all that God brings my way is acceptable to me, and I work with him to bring his message of hope, life and live to a sick and dying world.

It is hard to hear this in the midst of all the 'prosperity' that we hear about in the church these days. God is a God of riches and wealth but he is also a God of accountability. He does not give his resources to people who will waste them, because he has a world he needs to reach. There are times he will take you through lack so you can understand the world he is sending you to, and there are times he will take you through a season of harvest so you can touch the world with his blessings. After all, it is his world, his assignment, his mission field, his missionaries, his resources, his message, and his direction. We are just vessels that will give account of all that has been entrusted into our hands.

As we go out today, let us remember that God always has a message for someone out there in the world. How he seeks to preach that message is his prerogative, all we can do is to be available. God is looking for lives surrendered to his leading and direction. Can he count on you? His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me seek after your glory in my life. Let your grace and mercy speak through me, so that he world can see you in me. Amen.