Live In The Grace Of Each Day

March 21, 2018

Live In The Grace Of Each Day

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

Read: Philippians 4: 10-13

My friend had been selected to give a talk on a women’s retreat where I was serving as the spiritual director. It was the tradition of this retreat that I would escort the speakers to the podium for their talk. As I stood with my friend for the opening prayer, I could feel her trembling. She was terrified. Although she was an elementary school teacher, she was not comfortable speaking to adults, especially when she had been asked to speak about her faith and her walk with the Lord. As the prayer closed, she stepped behind the podium and began her talk, and what a powerful and eloquent talk she delivered! The Holy Spirit touched many lives through her talk, including mine. My friend experienced the fulfillment of Paul’s assertion in her own life: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

Paul also said that he had learned how to live on almost nothing or with everything, with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. Paul had “learned the secret of living in every situation” (Philippians 2:12). That secret was the presence of Jesus Christ in his life. Paul experienced the fulfillment of this most precious promise of Jesus: “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus is not a prescription for avoiding pain, discomfort, want, lack, illness or distress in our lives. It is God’s provision that no matter what issues we face in life, we can rest in the unalterable truth that we are the beloved children of God, and that we are never, ever alone. Jesus is with us even to end of the age! With this good news we can, to borrow a phrase from Paul Young (author of The Shack), live in the grace of each day.

My Takeaway: I have found it helpful in my life to always remember today’s verse (Philippians 4:13) in the context in which Paul shared it with his friends in Philippi. “For I can do everything Christ calls me to do because Christ gives me the strength to do it.” This is just another way of internalizing the truth Paul shared in the earlier verse 13: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13).

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.