By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

The One Who Strengthens Me

You  can listen to todays’ devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

“I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:12b-13 English Standard Version

I sent this picture of the very last zucchini in our garden to my good friend Mick.  I had typed under the picture, “Last Chance for Zucchini”.  When we talked about the picture later he explained that he would willingly go hungry rather than eat squash.  Even if there was nothing else to eat, he would not eat summer squash.

Have you ever been in great need for the basic staples of life like food or drink or clothes or a place to live?  Have you ever wondered where your next meal or paycheck would come from?  Saint Paul knew what it meant to have very little and to have abundance.  He knew what it meant to feel all alone and without the basic staples of life.

And yet Paul was content.  Whether having much or little, he was satisfied with what he had and was not worried or fearful about tomorrow.  He said that he had learned the “secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”

What was this secret?  Did it come from some inner fortitude or superior character quality in Paul?  No, it came from his deep relationship with a God who loved him and cared for him.  When there was little in Paul’s life, when he was all alone, he trusted that the God of all creation loved him and would care for him.  Paul could “do all things through him who strengthens me.”

How was Paul strengthened by God?  Paul knew that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die upon a cross to save him.  And he knew that Jesus had conquered sin and death and freely gave him forgiveness and eternal life and heaven and all that Paul would need for this earthly life.

Paul’s secret?  Trust God.  Trust Jesus.  Have faith in Him.  It is the secret of all contentment and all peace.  Amen.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado