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“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

So many times we wrestle with the hardships of life. We’ve all had our share. The car breaks down. The dog runs away. The kids are fighting. The neighbor's music is too loud. There are financial issues and health issues. Sometimes it just feels like the walls are closing in and we don’t know where to turn.

Paul understood hardship. In 2 Corinthians 11, he gives a summary of his many trials:

“Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes,” Paul says. “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.”

Yet here in Philippians, Paul gives us what he calls “the secret of living in every situation.” Instead of being overwhelmed by many hardships, Paul turns his focus to Christ. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength,” Paul writes. Paul understands that when we are weak, Christ is strong. It is His strength that will sustain us when have no strength of our own to lean on.

Press in. Lean hard. Don’t let the cares of this life overwhelm you. You can trust in the strength and stability of Christ to carry you through the things in life that seem insurmountable. You too can do everything through Christ, who gives you strength.