In My Weakness, He is Strong
by Amy Potts
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-8
My all-time favorite verse is Philippians 4:4-8. This passage is so practical and helps me “do” life. It instructs me on how to live in Christ as a follower of His. God’s Word here encourages me and convicts me. This verse calms my heart in the middle of the night when life feels dark and hopeless and out of control. It ends with promising me the peace of God. It is a verse I cherish with all my heart and I feel like God put this in the bible just for me. So let’s get into it!
I love that these verses command me to rejoice always!! It is so important that He even says it twice. Man, my heart cannot hear this enough. I need this reminder so often it's embarrassing. I wish I was more like my daughter Sadie Mae who rejoices easily in almost everything. But thank the Lord, He gave me these verses, as well as Sadie Mae, as an incredible example everyday of what rejoicing is. That is such an encouragement to be told to rejoice!
God commanding us to be gentle is a hard one for me. This may be no surprise to those of you who know me (by the way, thank you for being kind to me and loving me anyway). I need to be reminded that being tough and hard and intense occasionally have their purposes in life, but being evidently gentle to all is something that glorifies God and should be something others see in me. This is what I want. I want to glorify God. I love that this passage pushes me and encourages me to grow in character and perseverance by glorifying God by being gentle.
Another reason these verses speak to me is that I am guilty of being anxious and of worrying as well. I love that God doesn’t just say, “do not be anxious about anything”, and then just leave it at that. He tells us practically how we can do this. We are to take everything (meaning…ummm, EVERYTHING) to Him in prayer and petition with thanksgiving. That means He cares, He wants us to not carry our burdens on our own. He wants us unstressed and unworried about all things, and He wants us to be thankful in all of our requests as we come to Him. He prescribes the solution to our problem of anxiousness. What an incredible gift!
Many people say “I just wish God would tell me what to do”. This happens to be a perfect example of God telling us what to do. Our human nature is to worry, to be anxious, to be self-sufficient, and to be ungrateful, but God is reminding us to not be any of those things because they are not good for us and they certainly do not glorify Him. He says don’t be anxious, come to me in prayer and petition, and be thankful.
I think these verses goes so well with 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
In my weakness, He is strong. In MY weakness of being critical, intense, anxious, independent and ungrateful, the Lord is there to rest His power on me and make me strong! When I am weak and turn to the Lord, He is there to help me, to give me His strength, His words, His timing, His character, and His love. Philippians 4:4-8 tells me exactly how to go about this process.
When we are obedient to God’s word, God promises peace: sweet and beautiful peace. Peace that transcends understanding and guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Peace is the most coveted of all emotions for me especially as I get older and life feels more uncertain. I am so thankful for God’s goodness to me in that He has given me a tool, these verses, that I can go to in any and all situations. A passage that when meditated on long enough, eventually brings me to the sweet faithful promise of the peace of God.
REFLECTION:
In a world that thrives on chaos, individualism, self-glorification, and strength apart from Jesus, what do you do to change wrong ways of thinking?
What verses or people in your life encourage you to refocus on truth and be encouraged to persevere to the point of obtaining peace?
Challenge: Memorize Philippians 4:4-8. Write it down, post it around your house, encourage a friend to join you, and let the Word of God transform your heart.