Well, I dug into this verse a little deeper today. And before I reveal what I've found, I want to tell you why I looked in the first place.
I've never thought of myself as one of those "special" people who goes out and boldly tells about the essence of Christianity. In fact, I've really thought of myself, many times, as someone whose primary opportunity to witness is in living my daily life in front of those around me. I think Jesus has spent the last couple years teaching me more in-depth lessons about living Christianity out (VERY imperfectly) and being a leader in the faith through my example. In that way that I think many of us have, I tend to limit God sometimes. In this particular scenario, I think I've been unintentionally putting limits on Him in my mind by assuming that it would end there.
Seems that I might be wrong. And, actually, regardless of what He has planned in specific situations and relationships, the verse I'm reviewing today assures me I am quite wrong. And it's one of those days and ways in which I'm really glad I was wrong.
So, let's look at the Amplified translation of this verse; in digging into the root words, the AMP sometimes captures "essence" so well for my brain, it makes me grin. Here's one of those instances:
"I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]." Philippians 4:13 (AMP)
As I look at that, I am struck by a convicting question: what thing could I possibly label as just one of those things for which I am not equipped? Yes, surely, there are actions, activities and plans that God has set aside for someone other than me. But someone who cannot? Read what it says there. Ready for anything. Equal to anything. And my favorite part? "Self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency."
If you have ever found yourself (as I have) believing that you just can't know the right way, or just cannot say the right thing or take the best action, you are wrong. If you find yourself believing that you're just not "cut out for" something, please consider that that might simply be a nice way of saying that you don't believe yourself to be equal to the task. If you allow Christ to infuse inner strength into you, are are ready for anything. How different could the rest of today be if you lived with that belief foremost in your mind? Let's find out, shall we?
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