I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 NIV
All Things
There are a number of things that are only made in Canada. For example, every single bag of ketchup potato chips in the world is made in Canada. So is every single butter tart, and every single Nanaimo bar. If you like Coffee Crisp chocolate bars – only in Canada, along with beaver tails and blankets – at least the Hudson Bay kind. And if you’re in the mood for quarter chicken white meat with Chalet Sauce and you’re outside Canada – you are out of luck.
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While we Canadians always celebrate those things that are uniquely Canadian, most of what makes life enjoyable is created and produced by people who live somewhere else in the world. We count on others to help us live our daily lives. If this is so in the physical world, it is even more so the case in the spiritual. God calls followers of Jesus to live in a such a way that we consistently honour Him, and He calls us to things that in our own strength and power we simply cannot do. The apostle Paul understood this, and writes in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Paul has just been writing about how he has learned to be content whether he is in a time of need or has plenty, well fed or hungry. The contentment that he experiences is only because the Lord gives him the strength. Every follower of Jesus can have the same experience – the same contentment. It isn’t humanly possible – but God provides all we need to live above our circumstances. Whatever you are facing today, ask the Lord Jesus to give you His strength.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley