Happy 4:13 day!

For several years now, the radio station K-love has dubbed March 16th as “3:16 day” in recognition of John 3:16.  I missed blogging about it this year, but I have done so in past years.  This concept got me thinking.  You might say that today could be “4:13 day” in honor of Philippians 4:13; this is a famous verse that reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV).

Right off that bat, I have to state that this verse can be twisted to suggest that anything and everything will be done for the person, simply because God is going to back you up in the endeavor.  No matter how selfish it may be.  That’s not what this verse means at all.  Pastor Bill Oudemolen once gave two good examples of this in a sermon.  He said, when he was young, he wanted to slam dunk a basketball.  He would quote Philippians 4:13, then he would subsequently jump and not even come anywhere close to dunking it.  Secondly, he said he always wanted to play a musical instrument.  So, do you think, without any lessons, he just picked up an instrument and magically could play it perfectly?  No, because that’s not what Philippians 4:13 is teaching.

I would paraphrase the verse this way: “Whatever situation God has called me to do I can meet it with confidence, not because of my own innate power, but because the Lord will give me His supernatural strength to face it.”  Let me list some examples.  You’ve been hurt deeply by someone.  Your blood boils just at the mere thought of what they said or did.  You want to hold on to the anger, and harbor a secret desire for revenge, but you also know that God says the only way to experience freedom is to forgive the one who hurt you.  The problem is you don’t think you can do it.  The reality is you’re right.  But according to Philippians 4:13, Christ will give you the supernatural power to do it.

Or maybe your best friend in the entire world, that special person you can’t imagine living life without, passes on to the after-life.  Knowing this makes the thought of facing another day excruciating.  You wonder how you can even go on.  According to Philippians 4:13, Christ will empower you to face this new reality.  It might be that you are facing a health crisis that has gripped your world and filled you with fear and uncertainty.  Or perhaps you suddenly find yourself unemployed.  All I’m trying to say is that life has a way of knocking the wind out of us.  But Philippians 4:13 presents an amazing promise: no matter what it is, God will help His children to face the next seemingly insurmountable mountain.

Happy 4:13 day!

Kevin