Philippians 4:11, ‘Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.’
Apostle Paul is saying that – ‘for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.’ Paul is also a human being and he says that he is also ‘learning’ through many situations in his life. The ‘self-life’ is our real enemy in our lives, hindering us, from coming into the light. Let us also like Paul, learn to be ‘content’ in whatever circumstances we are in. It is God who takes us through our circumstances and each of these situations, we need to learn to be more like Jesus in our nature. We know the way Israelites were led out of Egypt. The plagues, were harder and harder each time, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened too, each time! He wouldn’t let them go! Until the first-born were taken from them, he let them go, but even after some time, his heart was hardened and came after the Israelites. Similarly, in our lives, we should not let our hearts be hardened when we go through situations but they should lead us closer to God and making us more Christ-like nature. We know the Israelites were sealed by the blood of lamb. When the fresh blood of lamb – Jesus Christ, is available today, we need to cleanse ourselves from the sins that arise from the lack of knowledge of God, especially from our ‘self-life’
We see the heart of Paul, pouring out for the Philippian Christians, that he says, ‘not that I speak from want’ – he needs nothing from them, as he learned how to be content. His afflictions made him to come more closer to God.
V12, ‘I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.’
In all our situations, we need to come closer to God. It is Christ who gives us strength to go through our situations.
V13, ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.’
Paul is saying about Timothy who has a genuine concern of the Philippian Church.
Philippians 2:19,20, ‘But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.’
1 Timothy 6:8-10, ‘If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.’
Paul is exhorting Timothy to be content with food and covering and is saying how the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. The desires and the passions in the flesh will rule over those who want to get rich, leading them to destruction. In our lives, we need to test ourselves that, are we content with the little we have or the abundance that which we have. Longing for more money, some have wandered away from faith.
1 Timothy 6:11,12, ‘But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.’
Let us flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
V6, ‘But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.’
1 Timothy 3:16, ‘By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.’
The secret of godliness, is to know that God was revealed in the flesh that we all have, was vindicated in the spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, believed on, in the world and was taken up in glory. We also should walk, in this world in this flesh, by looking unto Jesus, the way He walked in this earth. We need to come again and again into God’s presence, asking to be filled with His Holy Spirit and ask His guidance in everyday of our lives.
‘Godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment’
Are we having a grumbling attitude, when we are going through difficult situations? Are we allowing God to break us through these situations? Let us know that, through these situations God wants us to come closer to Him.
We know Jacob was a grabber, he schemed ways to grab brothers’ blessings and wealth, but we see that he came to a point where he saw God, when he was led to be alone, when he was returning to see his brother Esau, he was broken by God, when he was alone. It happens to us too. When we cannot seek anybody’s help, in these times, God will allow us to be broken.
Genesis 32:24, ‘Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak’
V26, ‘Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”
He struggled it out with his flesh with God, and men and he prevailed. Are we allowing God to break us or we hardening ourselves?
V30. ‘So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Jacob came to a point where he really saw God, face to face, yet his life was preserved. We see the changed that Jacob had after this incident. He was humbling himself and was preparing himself to meet his brother.
Genesis 33:9-11, ‘But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. 11 Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.’
This is how Jacob was changed, that he could see God’s face in Esau. Jacob was afraid to see his brother but through these situations, God broke Jacob and he was able to see God’s face in his brother! This is how God works in us.
Stephen also was able to see Jesus standing at the right-hand side of the Father, when he was being stoned! Stephen when he saw Jesus, he was able to cry for those, who were throwing stones at him. When we are going through situations, when we are getting broken, we can see the real God but when we harden our hearts, God says, ‘He has no pleasure in us’. Jacob says to his brother that he received him favorably. When we allow God to break us, we can be able to receive our relatives also, favorably. Let us allow God to break us, make us humble and allow His nature to be in us.
We know Paul went through many afflictions in his life. God was leading him through these situations to break him and make him humble.
1 Corinthians 4:11, ‘To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; 12 and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; 13 when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.’
2 Corinthians 8:1-2, ‘Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.’
Though the churches of Macedonia, even when they were afflicted greatly, they had an abundance of joy and even in their deep poverty, were overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
V3-5, ‘For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, 4 begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.’
It is blessed to know, that they first gave themselves to the Lord and to Paul by the will of God. We also need to have this submission to our Lord in our lives first, when we go through the situation. Then we can experience the abundance of joy and even through our poverty, we can be liberal in sharing to the body of Christ. Let us submit to God and ask God every day, to have the bread (Word) so we can be a blessing to others also. Each day, let the Word of God, the bread, may become blood and life in us so we can be blessing to others. Through this, there can be liberality in our hearts!
Acts 16:22-25, ‘The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24 and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;’
Even though it feels difficult to be able to pray to God and singing hymns of praise to God, at such time of tribulation but Paul and Silas were able to do as they were filled with the perfect joy and peace of the Lord. God was teaching them, so the souls may be won through them. We see that the Philippian Jailor and his family were saved. Let us be humble and submit ourselves to God, to be broken, through the situations, so the nature of Christ, may be manifested in our lives, bringing other souls to Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:9, ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.’
He became poor, so that through His poverty, you and I can become rich in the Lord. The Lord Jesus became poor and gave us His life so we can become rich in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:27, 28, ‘I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.’
Paul says here about all that he went through physically and the daily pressure of concern for all the churches, he needed to oversee. He went through all these because of his love towards God. There was a thorn in his flesh too.
2 Corinthians 12:5, ‘On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.’
Paul says, he will not boast about the revelations that he received from the Lord, except in his weakness.
V7-8, ‘Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.’
A man of God pestered with a thorn in his flesh. When he asked God for the deliverance, God tells him,
V9, ‘And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
There is God’s power in our weakness. God gives us His Holy Spirit and the power to be content in our lives. This is a way to give us new life in Him.
V10, ‘Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.’
God was leading Paul and protecting Paul in all the situations that Paul was going through.
Philippians 3:7, ’But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.’
Whatever this world has and even the revelations he got from the Lord. Paul is considering them as loss, as he does not want to exalt himself and want to humble himself under the mighty hand of God.
V8, ‘More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,’
Thank God for His Word and the ways through which He is leading us.
