The More I Spend the More I Save
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)
Common Sense
We have a grocery store that is going to make me rich. They advertise that the more you spend the more you save. Now I think if I take time on a Saturday morning to take advantage of all the things that store sells, my savings account should be bursting from the seams by the end of the day. But of course, they don’t mean what they are saying. You simply cannot save money by spending money. But you can spend less than you would if you went to stores where the prices are higher. They are misusing the normal meanings of words, but they are assuming that you will understand what they are trying to say by using a little common sense.
Experience
People often read the Bible without really thinking or using common sense as well. For example, I hear people quote the above verse whenever they run into a problem that seems insurmountable and they assume that the Lord is going to always give them the strength or wisdom or resources to solve their problem. Sometimes I think that people think that they are Supermen or Spiderman and they will be able to leap over tall buildings and fight crime and criminals in their cities. And they will always end up being victorious of course. I don’t want to rain on any one’s parade, but experience proves that life doesn’t work that way and the verse doesn’t say that it does.
Context
If people would read what precedes this verse, they would find out that Paul has said, “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. (Philippians 4:12 NKJV).” Then he says,” I can do all (these) things through Christ who strengthens me.” Obviously in the context, he is saying that he can do all the things that he had been called to do in the previous verse through Christ who strengthens him.
The Lord’s Example
Even the Lord did not jump off of tall buildings. Satan wanted him to jump from the temple. I am sure that the Lord could have jumped and survived but He had not been called to do that. We too need to recognize that the Lord strengthens those of us who trust in Him and gives us power to do what He has asked us to do. He will sustain us in adverse circumstances that He has caused us to endure. But we cannot do ALL THINGS that we might like to do through Christ who strengthens us. Many of our plans and objectives are based on the flesh and not on the spirit. When we pursue those plans and end up in bankruptcy, or end up losing our health or losing our families, we need to confess that the only things that we can really do through Christ who strengthens us are the things He has called us and equipped us to do. Sometimes the Lord calls us to be martyrs, to be one’s who suffer physically, to be losers as far as the world is concerned. If He has called us to those circumstances, He will empower us to persevere during the trials. I realize that the Lord can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20), so we don’t want to limit the power of God in our lives. But we do need to make sure that we are doing what He has asked us to do the way He has asked us to do it, if we are expecting to be able to do all these things through Christ who strengthens us.
Sorry, it just Won’t Work
Also, I am quite sure that I am not going to spend myself into being a millionaire regardless of what my local grocery store says. Neither do I think the Lord has given me as one who trusts in the Lord for salvation and for preservation in this life an open line of credit to do whatever I want to do with the expectation that He will pay the bill.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of July 28, 2019