I Can do All Things

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” — Philippians 4:13

There it is. The Christian motivational verse to end all Christian motivational verses.  We love Philippians 4:13 because it sounds like God just handed us a spiritual unlimited credit card.

Want to start a business? I can do all things!

Want to run a marathon even though you haven’t walked farther than the refrigerator since 2019? I can do all things!

Want to fix the plumbing yourself after watching a six-minute YouTube video? I CAN DO ALL THINGS!

Jesus strengthens. Jesus saves. Jesus delivers. But nowhere in Scripture does Jesus promise to keep you from flooding your basement because you own a wrench.

We have taken Philippians 4:13 and turned it into the Christian version of:

“If you believe in yourself hard enough, you can accomplish anything!”

There’s just one little problem. That’s not what Paul was talking about. Not even close. Paul Wasn’t Writing From a Motivational Seminar.

When Paul wrote Philippians, he wasn’t standing backstage at a Christian leadership conference waiting for the worship team to finish so he could give his keynote presentation.” Paul was a prisoner. And just before saying, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he explained what he meant.

He said: “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”— Philippians 4:11

Then he continues: “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”— Philippians 4:12

And then comes verse 13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Suddenly, that verse sounds a little different.

Paul wasn’t saying: “Jesus will help me accomplish whatever dream I set my mind to.”

Paul was saying: “Whatever life throws at me, Christ will give me the strength to remain faithful.”

That may not sell as many T-shirts. But it will carry you through a whole lot more life.

We tend to interpret God’s strength as the ability to win. Paul understood God’s strength as the ability to endure. There’s a difference. Sometimes Christ strengthens you to climb the mountain. Sometimes Christ strengthens you to live in the valley. Sometimes Christ strengthens you to celebrate abundance. Sometimes Christ strengthens you when you don’t know how the bills are going to get paid. Sometimes He gives you strength to preach. Sometimes He gives you strength to pray. And sometimes He gives you just enough strength to get out of bed, put your pants on, drink some coffee, and whisper: “Jesus, we’re going to have to do this day together.”

And that counts. Pastoring has taught me this. There are days when I feel like I can conquer the world. The sermon came together. People were encouraged. The worship was powerful. Someone actually laughed at one of my jokes. I CAN DO ALL THINGS!

Then Monday arrives. The copier is broken. Someone is upset. Something is leaking. Three people need to talk to me immediately. The church computer has decided it no longer believes in Wi-Fi. And the sermon idea that sounded brilliant at 11:30 Sunday morning sounds absolutely ridiculous by Monday afternoon. Apparently “all things” includes Mondays.

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big. There’s nothing wrong with working hard. There’s nothing wrong with believing God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people. He absolutely can.

But Philippians 4:13 isn’t about believing in your ability. It’s about trusting Christ’s sufficiency. That’s actually better. Because eventually you will encounter something you cannot do.

You cannot control every circumstance. You cannot fix every person. You cannot prevent every disappointment. You cannot make everybody like you. Believe me, pastors learn that one eventually. You cannot guarantee tomorrow. You cannot always change the situation.

And sometimes no amount of determination, positive thinking, inspirational music, or coffee is going to make the problem disappear.

But you can say: “Christ will give me what I need to remain faithful here.”

That is Philippians 4:13. I think we accidentally made Philippians 4:13 smaller when we tried to make it bigger. We turned it into: “I can accomplish anything!” Paul gave us something far more powerful: “I can face anything.”

I can walk through abundance without forgetting God.

I can walk through lack without abandoning God.

I can experience success without worshiping it.

I can experience failure without being destroyed by it.

I can have plenty.

I can have little.

I can laugh.

I can hurt.

I can celebrate.

I can grieve.

I can stand on the mountaintop.

I can crawl through the valley.

Because my strength was never supposed to come from my circumstances in the first place. It comes from Christ.

So maybe we can keep the T-shirts. Keep the coffee mugs. Keep the motivational posters.

Put Philippians 4:13 on the gym wall if you want. Just remember what Paul actually meant when you read it.

“I can do all things” doesn’t mean: “I can accomplish anything I put my mind to because Jesus is obligated to make me successful.”

It means: “There is no circumstance I will ever face where Christ will stop being enough.”

And frankly, I need that promise much more than I need another motivational poster.

Especially on Mondays.

— Pastor Doug