Struggle & Triumph | What God Says I Haveናሙና

I Can Rejoice

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

If you’re an athlete, you’ve doubtless seen Philippians 4:13 many times. You can find this reference on the backs of T-shirts, on water bottles and in the Twitter bio of your favorite pros. So often this verse is used to inspire athletes to strive for greatness:

Want to run a marathon? “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Want to make the basketball team? “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

Want to win an Olympic medal? “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

But when we view this verse only through the lense of athletic achievement, we miss out on the power we have in and through Christ. 

The book of Philippians was written by the apostle Paul while he was in prison for preaching the gospel. He wrote this letter to believers in Philippi, encouraging them to endure trials and persecution and to look to the Lord for their joy and strength. These Christians lived under the constant threat of violence, imprisonment and even death, just for following Jesus. Yet Paul encourages them to rejoice. Because God is near to them, they do not have to be bound by anxiety and fear, but can give their concerns up to the Lord, knowing that He hears them and that He is in control. Even when it would make sense to be afraid, God gives them His peace, which makes no sense to our human minds.

When Paul writes, “I can do all this,” he’s talking about always rejoicing in the Lord. This verse is the ending exclamation point to his encouragement for believers to walk in love and holiness, to practice living out their faith, no matter the circumstance.

Paul is not the only one who teaches that in Christ we have everything we need to be strong, to rejoice in the midst of hardship and to fight sin. The apostle Peter writes about Jesus: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).

Through His Spirit living inside of us, God has given us everything we need to walk with Him and live out His purpose for our lives. We have all the resources we need to experience real, abundant life in Him.

Application: Take a moment to rejoice in the circumstances of your life even if they are hard, knowing that God is beside us giving us the help we need.

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