Philippians 4:13

Devotional Thoughts

By Gary Wilkerson

Being bound by fear can cause us to resist stepping out in faith. But Jesus has a remedy for our fear. At the Feast of Tabernacles, He stood up and declared, “This river of living water will not be stopped. If anyone believes in Me, this water will nourish him with life. It will flow out of him like a river, demonstrating the goodness of the heavenly Father” (see John 7:37-38).

When our fearful heart is refreshed, one thing that flows into us is boldness: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Multitudes of Christians know this verse as a precious promise. But it is more than that — it is reality. For instance, we don’t have to muster up boldness to testify about Jesus because He supplies it. In fact, He causes it to overflow in us.

This transformation happens in two ways: (1) circumstantial refreshing and (2) core refreshing. When God refreshes our circumstances, He changes old patterns. Let’s look at two common areas: finances and marriage. If you have fallen into financial trouble, He may refresh you by exposing your unhealthy spending patterns and convicting you to change them. He may lead you to seek financial counseling that can help you replace those patterns and become a wise steward.

He may want to disrupt old patterns in your marriage, patterns that keep you stuck in hardened, unloving ways. Too many couples say to each other, “You’re always like this,” or, “You did this five years ago,” or, “You’ll never change.” The important question for any couple is, “How can I believe the best about my spouse and still deal realistically with our issues?” It starts with the refresh button. Very few relationship problems are solved overnight; most require diligent grace every day.

Remember, Jesus is ready to refresh us with abundant grace every time we need it.