I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 NIV
All Things
There is likely no more recognizable Canadian food than poutine. It has become known around the world as a Canadian delight – I once enjoyed it in a poutinerie in a mall in Myanmar – the restaurant walls covered in bright red maple leaves. Of all the fabulous Canadian cuisine, poutine tops the list as Canada’s most iconic dish. The traditional version of this not-so-healthy meal is made of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Poutine first appeared in Quebec in the 1950s but can now be found in virtually every Canadian arena, pub, even McDonalds!
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Even someone as close to Jesus as Paul admitted, in Romans 7, that he found walking with Jesus a challenge – the very thing he didn’t want to do was the very thing he too often found himself doing. We can all relate to that. When we try to live for Jesus in our own strength, we fail all too often. In Paul’s case, Romans 8 follows Romans 7, where He gives thanks to the Lord Jesus that we don’t need to live defeated, always yielding to temptation. He shares the same testimony in Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” One of the ironies of the Christian faith is that the more we recognize our own weakness, the more we can say “I can’t” the better it is. For when we reach that point, Jesus can take over, and as Paul says, through His power, we can do everything He asks of us, and more. The answer is in the surrender of self and then inviting the Holy Spirit in us to accomplish through us what we can’t do on our own.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley