More Than a Cliche

In our community, separate gatherings for men, women and teens have become an established part of our worship and focus on Good Friday.  It’s wonderful to see The Church in our community come together in worship and reflection on the sacrifice of Jesus on this day.

About 12 years ago, I took some of the kids from our youth ministry to the Youth gathering.  I was excited to be a part of this worship, and to hear Robin Cole – part of the infamous Steel Curtain defense of the Steelers in the 70’s and early 80’s – share his faith story and encourage us in our walk with Jesus.

Robin shared his faith journey with us that morning, recounting how as a young man he came to trust in Jesus as his Lord and Savior and how he overcame a very rough and tumble childhood and teen years.  I don’t remember all the specifics, but I do recall that he shared with great passion about how God had changed his life and delivered him from a gang infested community in Compton, CA.  I was really impressed with his faith and his trust in Jesus.

And then his talk took a nosedive into the cheesy motivational speech, telling the kids, “You can be anything you want to be.”  As I heard him speak, I was thinking, “Sure, that’s easy to say when you’re a 6’3” stud linebacker who has been given incredible strength and athletic ability.”  This isn’t to minimize what he had overcome, or the hard work that he invested in becoming a great NFL linebacker. 

But as I looked around at the room, I saw a bunch of scrawny middle school and high school kids, the biggest of whom might weigh 150 pounds dripping wet.  My immediate thought was, “So you’re telling us all that if we want to be an NFL linebacker, we can be?” 

And then he did it.  He dropped the Philippians 4:13 bomb on us: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”  The ultimate cliché of the Christian world.  If you just work hard enough, you can do anything.  If you just believe in yourself enough, you can do anything.  If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, everything will fall into place for you. 

It’s sad and a little troubling to me that so many people – of course mostly with good intentions – have robbed this verse of its power and meaning in an attempt to motivate people.  It is a verse of great promise and hope for us in our struggles in life, but it is not a cliché about doing whatever we want to do and being whatever we want to be.

You might recall, as I wrote last week, that Paul is writing the Book of Philippians from prison and encouraging his friends at the Church in Phillipi to keep up the work that God has begun in their lives, despite their outward circumstances.  In today’s reading from Philippians 4, Paul really brings it all together for us and helps us to see that Philippians 4:13 is much more than a cliché. 

In v.4, Paul says these words to his friends: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

From prison.  In chains.  Beaten and battered.  And not in a prison with 3 square meals a day, cable TV and a recreation area funded by taxpayers.  Through Paul, God tells us that we can always choose to have joy no matter our circumstances.  Choosing joy, and choosing to see the big picture of what God has done and continues to do for us in Jesus Christ, is not a cliché and is not based upon our circumstances.  No matter where we find ourselves in life, we can choose to be joyful because of what Jesus has done for us.  This is the foundation for knowing and believing and living out the truth that we can do all things through the strength of Jesus.

Paul goes on to talk about this reality in greater detail.   In v.11, he says, “ . . . for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances,” and in v.12 he reminds us that he is familiar with hardship.  The key to Paul’s faith in such situations, and the key to faith for us in difficult circumstances, is knowing and believing that even in the hard times, Jesus is our source of joy, contentment and strength. 

Jesus isn’t our Genie in a Bible that gives us whatever we want or allows us to do whatever we want to do.  Jesus is our source of life and power; our source of grace and mercy; and our source of contentment as we seek to live a life that glorifies and points other people to Him as we become like Him.

Doing all things through Christ is about doing all things FOR Christ.  Are you struggling to maintian your integrity because you're disappointed with your circumstances?  Jesus will give you the strength to maintain it.  Are you struggling to maintain your faith and keep moving forward in becoming like Jesus because God is humbling you?  Jesus will give you the strength to maintain your faith and to keep moving towards him.  Are you struggling to maintain your holiness and righteousness because you're being mocked and scoffed at?  Jesus will give you the strength to maintain it.  

Jesus will give us the strength to glorify Him in EVERY situation in life when our overwhelming desire and focus in life is to bring Him glory. In every situation in life – whether good or bad; easy or difficult – we have two choices.  We can honor Jesus and reflect his glory or we can honor ourselves and be consumed with selfies and self-promotion.  When we choose to live for Jesus, we can be confident that by his power and strength, he will give us all that we need in every situation in life. 

Think about it this way.  This is a promise straight from the heart of God to us.  Do you think this is a cliché to Him, or does He really mean it?  My hope and prayer is that in my life, and in yours, that this would be more than a cliché and that it would be a source of strength, hope and power for us as we seek to live for the glory of Jesus.