As Paul the apostle
continued his words of commendation to the Philippians for their care
for him, he included that he knew how to be content within whatever
circumstances he found himself. In Philippians chapter four and verse
twelve, Paul expounds upon this idea with examples of extremes he
experienced while being a Christian. We read:
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.
The verse begins, “I
know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:”
Paul began his examples with “I know”
which means “to perceive, notice, discern, discover”. Paul
experienced the events he listed such as “how to be
abased” or “to be made low,
bring low, to level, reduce to a plain or be humbled”. Paul
also knew “how to abound” which means “to exceed a fixed
number of measure, to be left over and above a certain number or
measure, to be over, to remain, to have preeminence and excel”.
Paul had been humbled in his life, and he had been exalted.
The verse continues, “every
where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry,” Paul includes “every
where and in all things” to
describe every event of his life no matter where he was, what his
circumstances were, or how his situations were working at the time,
he was “instructed” which
means “to initiate into the mysteries, to teach fully,
instruct, or to accustom one to a thing”. In these circumstances
Paul was made accustom to both being “full” or “satisfied”
and to being “hungry” which is “suffering need and
want”.
Finally
the verse says, “both to abound and to suffer need.” As
an addendum to his extreme examples, Paul adds again “both
to abound” and “to
suffer need”. However he
employs a different term to describe “to suffer need”
which is the Greek work “hystereÅ”
from which we get our English word “hysteria”. “Hystereo”
means “behind, to come late or too tardily, to suffer want, to be
devoid of, to lack (be inferior) in excellence, worth”. As though
Paul wanted the Philippians to know he related to every circumstance
they might face, he listed “hystereo”
as one of the most distraught of places to be.
As
we ponder the various conditions that Paul experienced, perhaps we
may be able to relate to his extremes. The question is whether in
those conditions we have “learned” been “instructed” by the
Lord Jesus as we face them. It seems that if we live long enough we
will have times where either one of these extremes may be present in
our lives. The key is to rely upon the Lord for stability and being
grounded as Paul learned in his life. Perhaps our prayer should be to
recognize the Lord's hand is with us no matter what state our life is
in.
Next
time Paul tells the Philippians what he can do with the help of
Christ,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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