“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13

Preaching the gospel of God to Nineveh, the then force of the world, seemed an audacious task for Jonah. The hostile relations between Israel and Assyria meant that Jonah harbored a great deal of hate for the nation of Nineveh. So when God sent him to go warn them, his immediate reaction was to oppose the assignment and flee.

Oftentimes when we hear a word from God that is similar to our verse for today, the first thing our minds get drawn to are attaining superficial feats, meeting up goals and overcoming personal hurdles. Seldom do we hear preachers talking about complete obedience to God when this scripture is mentioned. When Paul said “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” what he meant was that he was willing to endure hardship and prosecution for the sake of the gospel. He was willing to obey God in all circumstances, even if he is sent to preach the gospel to His enemies.

Paul implies that when we are not at the best emotional place possible to endure hardship, preach to our enemies or stand for the gospel, that is when God’s grace abounds for us the more – and we can do all things because Christ has strengthened us. In Jonah’s story, we learn how he fled to Tarshish, which is opposite of Nineveh and how he was almost a casualty of a shipwreck, eventually he gets swallowed by a big fish and he repents of his sin. After three days the fish vomits him out and he sets off to Nineveh. We learn that he is able to turn 100,000 men to God, a feat he would never have attained if not for the strength of God.

Today, we want to encourage ourselves with this verse, that however audacious a the task is, as long as God is the one who commissioned it we will be good. Today we are not only saying we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us to our personal goals and feats, we are proclaiming the verse to signal God that we are willing to go where no one wants to go, do what no one wants to do and sit where no one wants to sit for Him. We are ready, we will obey, because He will strengthen us.