Seeing the obvious

It's been there all along. I've read those verses a million times. I'm sure I've read them consecutively as well. But suddenly I've seen and understood what should have been so obvious all along.

The verse out of context is "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Memorized and quoted for years on end, to students, by students, for students and family and friends. But in what context? Generally as a key to success. A hard speech? "I can do all things . . ." A difficult relationship? "I can do all things. . ." An impossible task? " I can do all things . . ." But what is the context?

Let me give it to you in the English Version for the Deaf -- simple is good.

Philippians 4
12 I know how to live when I am poor. And I know how to live when I have
plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. I have learned to be happy when I have enough to eat and when I don�t have enough to eat. I have learned to be happy when I have all the things I need and when I don�t have the things I need.
13 I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.

In other words, the doing of all things is not succeeding at all things. The doing of all things is the being able to have nothing or have everything as the Lord shall choose or being able to be nothing or be something as the Lord shall choose. If my failure brings God more glory than my success, I can fail and honor Him because He will give me the strength to bear the failure. (That is assuming of course that I have done all I can to prepare for what I am asked to do and the failure comes through no fault of my own.)

I can be nothing by the measure of the world, I can have nothing by the measure of the world, I can endure anything for any amount of time while in the world as God requires because He gives me strength.

I'm learning.