I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Phil 4:12-13)
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Sometimes it gets a little confusing, but God has a way of working things out to benefit everyone.
When we start a journey, we don't know how or where or when it will end. We have a general idea, we have a goal. Sometimes God changes that without consulting us, sometimes he changes it at our request.
Paul knew what it was like to be in chains, yet he still preached the message of hope and salvation. He knew what it was to be sick, and still he preached. He did not start out as a follower of Jesus Christ, he started out persecuting those who did. God changed his heart and Paul accepted the change. Through the strength given to him by his acceptance, he wrote to churches and saw many souls saved in the name of Jesus! He witnessed to all that was the Lord our God and gave thanks in everything. He knew the "secret" ~ it lies in Christ's shed blood!
Just as the Israelites smeared the blood of the a slain lamb over the door at the first "passover", the blood of Jesus has been smeared over our soul. We are his chosen ones. We will be spared from the fires of hell because of it! We are instructed how to live, what kind of life to lead, just as the Israelites were, and it is our responsibility to walk in the way that he has laid before us, without changing it. Remember, HIS way, not ours!
We CAN do all things through Christ, who gives us strength! That same blood that Paul wrote about still has the same power today that it did over 2000 years ago! It causes the blind to see and the lame to walk. It opens the door of hope and closes the door to eternal suffering! It is more powerful than any nuclear device on this earth. And once you have been washed in it, you are never the same!
No matter where I go in life, no matter what road I travel, the Lord goes before me! I follow where HE leads! For he knows better than anyone the desires of my heart and the longings of my soul! Trust in him, do for him, give to him ~ he gave it all for you!
