“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:11-13
Romans 5 says hope will not disappoint us. Why? Because it is our hope that shows us and reminds us that God is enough for us today. Paul got to that place in his journey where he realized that God alone was truly enough for him.
He wrote about this in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
After enduring imprisonment and pain, it would have been completely natural for Paul to resent God. After all, he had dedicated his entire life to making Jesus known. He shared the gospel and preached to countless people.
And what did he get in return? Beatings, bruises, broken bones, and time spent behind bars. And yet, when you study Paul’s journey, you don’t see a man that resents God. You see a man who loved God, served God, and grew to become more like God.
How? He would tell you it all began with affliction. It began with trials. It began with a thorn in the flesh. And God used all of these seemingly bad things for good in Paul’s life. He used trials to grow and develop him.
God uses suffering in our lives to show us that He is truly all we need. For the apostle Paul, being in prison, beaten, and bleeding WITH God was way better than being a free man without God. And that same thing is true for Christians today. It is better to suffer and HAVE God than it is to live an easy life on earth without God.