With God I can
As a parent one term you hear often when you have young children is, ‘I can’t do it!” Whether they can or not the answer is always the same and it is just as true for us believers. In these Last Days, the attacks and the crisis seem to be non-stop. Further, these attacks are stretching us beyond our ability.
Paul was a man who endured some of the hardest tests and trials and as he pressed through them, he obtained a message of victory that he could share.
“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4: 12-13
We all know and quote verse thirteen, but do we walk in verse twelve? Paul, through his trials and tribulations, as he sought the Lord learned several valuable lessons, including being content. In other words, what Paul stated as he walked independently of his circumstances. It didn’t matter to him if we were walking in lack or abundance. His joy and satisfaction were not determined by what he was going through.
Listen to this:
‘Are they ministers of Christ?- I speak as a fool- I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews in five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness- besides the other things, what come upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who us made to stumble and I do not burn with indignation?”
2 Corinthians 11: 23-29
Read that list and compare what you have gone through to that list! Paul clearly went through hell on this earth and yet in the midst of all it he learned to be unmoved by his circumstances.
In reading the list the thing that moved him the most was not the fear of calamities or persecution but the care of the church. If you are a pastor or minister, you will appreciate what he is saying. The Lord puts the sheep on your heart, and you have genuine care for them that they may not fully appreciate. When they reach out to you for prayer, you are broken for them in prayer. It is not simply someone asking and the response sure, I will pray for you, but a deep concern comes upon you that drives you in your prayer for them.
If one of the sheep stumbles in some way, righteous anger is stirred in you, just like a parent concerned for their kids. There are no perfect parents, and there are no perfect pastors, but the care that a real pastor has is real. I realize this is true for other ministries, but as a pastor, I can’t approach the Father without I am moved for the sheep. If you are a parent, then you may feel exactly the same regarding your children. It is something only a parent fully understands, and words fail to fully explain the depth of care and concern we have for them.
Listen to Moses and see the heart of a father and pastor when the people had sinned:
“Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin- but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
Exodus 32: 31-32
Moses stood in the gap for the people and was broken for them. When you read Paul, you see the deep care he had for the churches, and despite walking in sincerity and preaching the truth, he endured some of the greatest challenges from so-called other ministers. Sometimes, you feel like Christianity would be awesome if it wasn’t for other Christians. Yet, the truth is you have a deep and genuine concern for the sheep despite how they treat you. The cuts that come from the sheep cut deeper but despite all of this, Paul remained unmoved.
Looking at the list Paul gave, many today would not want to be his partner as they would judge him as being cursed or having a grey cloud over his head. It seems like anything that could go wrong went wrong for Paul. If Paul was going on a journey by ship, how many would sign up and say that they wanted to go on the same boat? But the persecution Paul went through was not because of some curse but because he was a threat to the enemy. There is persecution we can bring upon ourselves, and there is persecution from the enemy for His Name’s sake. The persecution for His Name’s sake brings the blessing if we learn to walk content.
So, Paul was able to speak to us that no matter what we are going through or facing, He is able to give us such grace that we can stand content regardless of our circumstances.
David was another powerful man of God who had a deep concern for the sheep and endured like Paul, many difficult
“As for God His way His perfect; the Word of God is PROVEN; He is a shield to all who trust Him.”
2 Samuel 22: 31
I like things that are proven! The grace, peace, and joy the Lord gives us are tested and proven. My peace and joy will fail and have failed, but His never does and never will. How do we step into His peace and stay in His peace? Stay content.
“You are my lamp, O Lord; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I CAN run against a troop; by my God I CAN leap over a wall.”
2 Samuel 22: 30 Emphasis added
Did you hear what was said here? We have to get our eyes off of ourselves and on Him. That means laying aside the need to be heard, my rights, my voice and God I’m hurt and simply trusting Him.
When we are going through a trial or tribulation, the attack of the enemy is to get us focused on you and not Him. So recognize the attack and lift your eyes off of yourself, the person being used by the enemy to attack you, and get your eyes firmly fixed on Him and his Word.
In the time of trial or difficulty, you need to HEAR and DO His Word. When we are going through these challenging times, we think about the problem nonstop and allow it to grow in us. But we must take action to seek His face in the Secret Place. There must be a holy desperation to hear Him. We come not seeking His hands but His face. It may look like if we just have this or that, we will be good, but as believers, we must walk on a higher path in which we declare that what we absolutely need is His to hear His voice. One Word from Heaven will change everything.
When you are going through it, the enemy wants you self-focused so that you don’t press in to hear Him and receive from Him. The circumstance changes us when we should be changing the circumstance through Him. Remember that by Him, WE CAN! Whatever wall or troop of the enemy stands in your way, you can overcome! By HIM!
So, how do I receive the grace I need to overcome?
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4: 16
Let us come with the freedom to speak and to ask with confidence. We are not talking about coming in arrogance but honoring the blood and releasing who He is and who we are in Him. The invite is to come before the place where things get resolved. This is the Supreme Court of all Creation, and it is here you receive the absolute answer. God doesn’t hold hearing after hearing but calls us to receive His judgment for us based on His Word.
We are to come and OBTAIN the mercy we need and see His grace for us in the situation. This is the place of answers. When does He answer- in the time of need!
If you appreciate what is being said here, then you understand who and what carries final authority. If we allow our circumstances to take us captive, they are the final authority. But because Paul saw the Lord as the final authority he could say in the midst o all these trials and tribulations:
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory., while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4: 16-18
In other words, the things which are temporary are subject to change and will do so. In reality, everything we see with the natural eye is changing and slowly decaying. But spiritual things never change.
We can either focus on the current problem or be held captive by them. Some people remain stuck facing the same giant all of their life. Yet, we are called to walk in victory, so something has to change. If we understand that in Him we overcome and that as we lift Him up and not our circumstances, then thing must and will change.
He has mercy and grace for the need, which is always perfect. Further, the storm we are caught in may seem the worst thing ever, yet it is a light temporal thing, and if our eyes are fixed on Him, He wants to do something greater. We may think that if we just get this or that, all will be good, but He is saying to ask for more! Yes, more according to His heart. He always desires to do more if we could just have our eyes opened to see the things of the Spirit. We may need money to pay for food this week, but He wants to deliver people. If we can get on the same page as Him and seek His kingdom and righteousness first, what would He do for us and though us? Further, as we await His provision, we are unmoved by our circumstances.
