Philippians 4:12-13
“I know what it is to live with humble means, and I know what it is to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of contentment – both to be filled and to go hungry, to have abundance and to suffer need. I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me.”
According to the Word of God, we can do all things through Messiah who strengthens us. The Word of God is true, trustworthy, and able to renew the human mind, therefore, when it says that we can do all things through Messiah who gives us strength, then this means that we, as followers of Yeshua the Messiah, have this strength available to us to go through every single day of our lives. If this was not the case, then it would not have been written in God’s Word.
This strength, that enables us to face every moment that presents itself to us on any given day, is available through Messiah and Messiah alone. Again, the secret to being content in all situations, to experiencing the shalom that surpasses our understanding, to rejoice always, to walk in a manner worthy of the Good News of Messiah in midst of dark and trying times, to focus our thoughts on things above and not the things of the world, to have the strength to be able to do all things, is available to us by having an intimate relationship with Yeshua the Messiah!
Yeshua says, “I am the vine, you are the branches, the one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.” – John 15:5
Abiding in Yeshua is the secret to a successful life as children of God. It is the only way for our lives to experience the glorious, life giving, fruits of the Holy Spirit in any and all circumstances. Let us abide in the vine, Yeshua the Messiah, and only then will we find the strength to do all things for today, all the while producing the good fruit that comes from a life in God.
The Word of God is alive and active, speaking truth into our lives, helping us establish a firm foundation to stand on while we go through life on this side of eternity. Please take some time to quietly meditate on the passages above and ask yourself these three questions.
1: What truth is being spoken in these passages?
2: What does this mean for me?
3: How should I respond?
For the past nine weeks, as the coronavirus upended the world with fear, stay-at-home mandates, financial loss and isolation, we’ve turned to Scripture for the hope we each need to endure rough times.
Ancient Israel had a hope: to return to the Land God had promised to give her. Yet, she had been in exile in Babylon for so long that I’m sure the hope of many began to wane, if not completely disappear.
Our God is the Master Composer. The intricacies He has purposefully arranged on His grand scale of time are often indistinguishable to the human ear, unless we strain to hear. As we journey through the story of Ezra-Nehemiah in the days ahead, listen in for a pattern, a 3-part harmony, as God composes another movement in His song through the mouths of His prophets. See if you can make out the sounds.
The words God gave to His prophets often told about events in the current time, near future and a time even further in the future. They are always pointing us forward, but what were they pointing us forward to?
