In closing his letter to the Philippians, Paul told them they focus on God in all circumstances. This daily devotional looks at how we can find joy in God as He supplies our needs.
Nuggets
- We should give glory to God because He supplies all our needs.
- The only limit that God puts on who can be His saints is that they just have ABCDed.
Devotions in the Joy in the Gospel series
Paul was in prison and didn’t know the outcome of his sentencing. He was writing to his dear brothers and sisters, the Philippians. He didn’t know if these were going to be the last words he said to them.
I am sure Paul wanted to make them count. He did.
Philippians 4: 19 is a favorite verse to many. It shows us how our joy comes from God.
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
God Provides Joy
“And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Phil. 4: 19-20 CSB)
We should give glory to God because He supplies all our needs.
Paul had just been telling the Philippians that they had provided him support when he needed it. At the moment, though, he had all he needed.
Paul went on to tell them why he was full up. God was supplying everything he needed.
Why? “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4: 19 CSB).
All Our Needs
Stacey reminded us of God’s promises scattered in Scripture.
- “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Ps. 34: 10 NIV).
- “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84: 11 ESV).
Stacey noted that these are broad promises. They include physical as well as spiritual promises. He will supply all of our constant needs.
But look what else Stacey said. He wrote, “We are not to make it the ground of foolish expectations. God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves, nor gratify our whims. The promise has a just and obvious limit. God will supply our need. … He does more, but does not engage to do so; and He is the final and righteous Judge of what our needs are.”
Resource
God expects us to pray in His Will. He isn’t looking for us to ask for wild things. He is not looking for providing us a Lamborghini and a three-story house in a gated community.
God will provide for us, but He doesn’t want us to feel entitled. I like to say He isn’t a gum ball machine. We don’t put our prayer quarter in and get the gum ball of our dreams.
Then God expects us to partner with Him.
According to His Glory
God will always be more concerned about our spiritual condition than our physical condition. He made us to worship Him.
Adam and Eve put a kabosh to that. The Plan of Salvation restores our relationship with God.
Still, God’s glory is, in part, the product of the adoration created when we praise God and give Him honor.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
We took the scenic route to get to glory.
- Glorify: to make glorious by bestowing honor, praise, or admiration
- Glorious: possessing or deserving glory
- Glory: worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Stanley looked at it this way. Christ is a mediator for us. “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us” (Rom. 8: 34 CSB).
In Philippians 4: 13, Paul told us that we can be certain about God and His provision. We have this certainty because of Who God is.
- God is a Spirit Who transcends time and space.
- God is mysterious and incomprehensible.
- God is omnipotent.
- God is omniscient.
- God is omnipresent means there is no place that God is not.
- God is eternal.
- God is self-existent.
- God is unchangeable.
- God is sovereign.
- God is pure.
- God has one indivisible Divine nature.
- God is jealous and wrathful.
- God is glorious.
- God is beautiful.
- God is perfect.
- God is holy.
- God is just.
- God is righteous.
- God is faithful.
- God is true.
- God is love.
- God is grace.
- God is mercy.
- God is forgiving.
- God’s Providence is caring.
- God is good.
In Christ Jesus
But did you catch what it says in Psalm 84: 11? “… No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84: 11 ESV).
We have to seek the Lord. “… those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Ps. 34: 10 NIV).
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
God doesn’t give all the good stuff to those who don’t obey Him. Yes, God loves and takes care of all His creation. Yes, He allows good stuff to happen to them.
The very best, however, is reserved for those who have ABCDed.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
God does have expectations from us. He expects us to commit ourselves to Him. He expects us to follow His laws and commandments when we do.
Isn’t it great that, even though God is the one who is supplying the needs, He uses us as an intermediary? We are the link between God and others.
Glory to God
Because of that, we need to give God the glory. Yes, He is Sovereign God, Creator of the universe. But He is also our Heavenly Father.
I loved what the Homiletic Monthly said grace was. They wrote, “Grace is the love of God as displayed in Christ, whereby we receive all those unmerited favours which are included in the gospel plan of salvation.”
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Paul’s Closing Thoughts
“Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings. All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Phil. 4: 21-23 CSB)
The only limit that God puts on who can be His saints is that they just have ABCDed.
Saint means holy one who has been set apart. To be a saint, we have to be in Christ. Since He is our center, we should greet everyone else who shares the center with us.
We are more than just saints. We are brothers and sisters. All who have ABCDed are one family of God.
Melvill described how the family worked. He wrote, “The earlier ages of the Church were marked by a spirit of love; so that Christians actually regarded themselves as all members of one family. The moment a man embraced Christianity, he was regarded as a brother by the whole Christian body: a thousand hearts at once beat kindly towards him; and multitudes, who were never likely to see him in the flesh, were instantly one with him in spirit.”
Resource
Paul didn’t give us an idea of who the team members were with him like he did in Romans. I think that was because the Romans letter was more of a procedural textbook than the Philippian letter was.
The letter to the church at Philippi was a personal letter to Paul’s brothers and sisters. He was showing them his heart.
Melvill brought up a good point. Even though disciples are considered part of the family of God, in Paul’s time, there was not much communication between churches. They were separated by distances as well as situations.
They had one thing in common: they loved God.
Verse 22 means more when we remember Paul is in prison in Rome. The leader of those who held him was called Caesar. That would be Nero, who doesn’t have a good reputation in his dealings with Christians.
We may be surprised that there would be Christians in Nero’s household. We may be surprised they would have the courage to be identified as such.
Walters said that shows God’s love and salvation is available to anyone. He wrote, “It knows nothing of the distinctions of rich and poor, noble and ignoble, learned and ignorant, bond and free. It knows them only as sinners, and offers salvation to all on equal terms. Hence in the early Churches we find slaves like Onesimus, fishermen like Peter, physicians like Luke, lawyers like Zenas, soldiers like Cornelius, and saints in Caesar’s household.”
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God doesn’t put a limit on those to whom He gives redemption. That lets us love Him back.
But it also tells us that God won’t limit where He will use us. We can’t think it will always be an easy mission.
How many missionaries are working in countries where they can’t broadcast that they are missionaries? I’ve heard question how many people left behind when our troops left Afghanistan are missionaries?
God will put us in sticky situations to preach His gospel. Sometimes, it is to test our faith. It is also to show who we are ministering to that God provides and we should have joy in all circumstances.
Walters said it this way, “It illustrates the sovereignty of Divine grace that out of these circumstances there should arise witnesses for the gospel. It must have required great courage; but the grace that called them sustained them.”
Resource
Melvill was right. We can have joy in serving God in a variety of instances. The workers in Caesar’s household surely met opposition. That would have given them times of temptation to make the opposition go away.
They still focused on God, not this world. Even though they stayed with Caesar’s household after giving their lives to God, they lived their lives in His service.
In other words, we can have joy in God, not circumstances.
That was really important for the Philippians to know. They would need “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ [to] be with [their] spirit” (Phil. 4: 23 CSB). Persecution was coming. They would have to keep their eyes off their circumstances and fully trained on God.
Making the Connections
Melvill felt that some may think Paul’s usefulness to God was over when he landed in prison. That was far from the case.
Resource
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were written while Paul was in prison. Hmmm. Stopped his mouth, but didn’t stop his pen.
Let’s expand that. I thought I was right where God wanted me to be, until it wasn’t. What He wanted was these devotions. Hmmm. Broadened the scope of the reach of my/His words.
Think you are done when you retire? Think you are done when you stay home to take care of the kids? Think you are done when you contract some illness are have a disability?
Maybe not. It is up to God.
How Do We Apply This?
- Grow in adversity.
- Listen to God when He is telling us to what He is calling us.
- Keep our eyes focused on him in all circumstances.
Resource
Christ’s disciples can rely on God to fulfill our needs. He will always be more concerned with our spiritual condition, but He will provide for our physical needs.
Father God. You love us so much, even though we disobey You. Show us where we sin so that we may confess them to You. Forgive us when we focus on this world and feel You should supply our wants as well as our needs. Amen.
What do you think?
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