How To Be Content With A Little - Philippians 4:11-13 Series

People who are control freaks – they have to be in control of everything – those are people who forget that there’s already someone in control of everything. And he’s doing a far better job at it than we would even if we did have unlimited power. So when I find myself lacking something I wish I had (“I wish I had this career achievement, or that money, or that body, or that person’s hair, or kids that were different…”) , the more painful that longing is, the more I can let it humble me. I can ask, “Darrell, if you want that thing so badly, why don’t you have it?” Answer – because I don’t have the power to make it happen. Or I don’t have the character or the wisdom or the money or the opportunity. “What does that tell you?” It reminds me that I’m not God – and that Someone else is God. Someone who has infinite wisdom and infinite power and unfathomable love for me. And that wise, powerful, loving Father is the one who decided I would be in this situation I’m in. I can trust him.

The Power Source

It all goes back to dependence on God. And that’s exactly where Paul ends up in v.13. Look how he concludes this whole paragraph on contentment:

13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

He just used that word everything twice in the previous verse. That phrase in any and every situation - literally, it’s in everything and in everything So it’s crystal clear what the everything in v.13 refers to. I’ve learned to handle poverty or abundance in everything and in everything. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. So when he says I can do everything, he’s referring to the everything in v.12 – contentment in any and every situation.

That’s important to know, because this is such a misunderstood, misused verse. People try to apply it to physical things rather than spiritual things. Athletes especially. When Evander Holyfield fought Mike Tyson for the heavyweight title, Holyfield had Php.4:13 embroidered on his shorts. Even without studying the Greek, I think most people can read this and say, , “Somehow I don’t think the ability to knock out Mike Tyson was what God had in mind here.” When Paul wrote v.13, he wasn’t saying, “Through him who strengthens me, I can body slam all these guards, break the chains, and run out of here with 4.4. speed.” When he said “I can do everything” he wasn’t talking about feats of strength. He was talking about feats of contentment. He wasn’t saying, “I can defeat any foe, throw any touchdown pass, knock out any opponent…” He was saying, “I can pull off any feat of contentment. Throw the hardest conceivable situation at me, beat me up and throw me in prison, and I can still pull off contentment. So the popular use of v.13 is the exact opposite of what it’s teaching. People use this verse to basically say, “I can rise above my circumstances and force life to be the way I want it.” And it’s saying the opposite. It’s saying, “I’m capable of humbling myself beneath the things that are out of my control.” So instead of using this verse to say, “I can get an A on this final exam, because I can do all things through him who strengthens me, ” a more accurate application would be, “Even if I study all night and get an F on the final and fail the class, I can still be joyful in the Lord.” Christ may not strengthen me to be able to score the winning basket , but he will strengthen me to be fully content and happy in him whether my team wins or get creamed. Whether I run it in for a touchdown or take a hit that makes me a quadriplegic – I’m fully capable of contentment either way.”