Alright, I acknowledge that title is a bit of clickbait (Did it work?). I can think of many other verses that I find much harder to live out or more difficult to understand. And should I really be comparing Bible verses and ranking them? Isn’t all Scripture God-breathed and profitable for us in numerous ways? So, perhaps, it would be better to say that this is one verse I have struggled with throughout my Christian walk. And I know for many of you, this is your most favoritest verse.

So, here we go. The verse goes like this: I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

I can hear the weeping and gnashing of teeth already.  And I will be checking pockets for any stones you might be tempted to pelt me with for this most unlikely minority position. But hear me out. There are three reasons I have struggled with this verse.

It can be used in ways that seem trite or misused in ways that distort its Biblical meaning. Now, notice I wrote it can be used or misused in these ways. Some have used it as a marketing tool as more of an inspirational saying than a Biblical truth. Others treat it as a magical mantra with the assumption that the “all things” in the verse are always positive, good outcomes, like getting a good grade on a test, earning a promotion, or in some more crass forms, getting the big house and the nice car. Too often, the emphasis seems to be on the “I” of the verse. The “can do” becomes a product of how much faith I have and the “through him” part is minimized.

It often doesn’t correspond with my feelings. Feelings get a bad rap sometimes in the Christian life as if they are somehow inherently faulty. But we were created with feelings. And while we shouldn’t allow them to have the final say, we also shouldn’t ignore them. My feelings often didn’t line up with the “have faith and it will all be blessing and joy and good times all the times” understanding of Philippians 4:13. I couldn’t see how the times of sadness and grief, of loneliness, of depression, of the dark night of the soul fit into this sense of overcoming all obstacles and being victorious.

It also often didn’t fit with my experience. There have been many days where I couldn't do anything. Days where I couldn’t see the top of the hole I had crawled into. Days where I cried out for deliverance that didn’t come (or at least not in the way I wanted or could see at the time). Days where trusting Jesus led me to harder, darker places, not to light and ease. And when I expressed my exasperation, the response was often to question whether I was truly a Christian or not. And I don’t have the space here to recount the numerous situations with others, walking through horrible tragedies only to have someone enter that space and casually throw out Philippians 4:13. They then would apply that to the situation with something along the lines of, “So just trust in Jesus and the cancer will be healed or you’ll get over the sexual assault like it didn’t even happen or your abusive husband will be changed if you stick it out.” (Note:  All things that were actually said in actual situations where I was actually present).

But, saints, I don’t want this to be all doom and gloom. Philippians 4:13 and I are coming to terms with each other. And the main reason for that has been the help of her sibling verses, Philippians 4:11-12. There we read, Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I am coming to realize that Christ not only strengthens us in the victories but also in the struggles. That it is no failure to experience the real brokenness and sin of this world and to have the emotions that come along with those experiences. And that Jesus is at work in every moment and circumstance of each of our lives, strengthening us in perhaps unexpected ways but always steadfast in his love and presence.