Least favorite verse #2
Posted in Brett's Posts, joy, verses 0 comments
The coolest thing about working at the Edge (high- & low-ropes challenge course) was talking people through their fear and do something they wouldn't otherwise do. This could happen on any of the elements, but the zip-lines were the two that you could actually be right behind the person listening and talking to them. Most are just hesitant, but then go on after a few moments. Others take a bit more coaxing, convincing, advising, etc. though never an actual physical push. One such occasion, a boy was on the zip line platform and I was talking to him about going. He was quite fearful and it seemed the longer he took, the more scared he got. The saddest/funniest part was when a well-meaning girl from his youth group shouted up from the ground, "Remember, 'I can do all things..." and the boy shouted "SHUT UP! Just SHUT UP!" We heard this verse quoted a lot at the Edge and elsewhere. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (NKJV)
Like the previous time I talked about My least favorite verse, it is not that I hate or do not believe in the veracity of the verse, but dislike the way it is often mistakenly construed. I heard it the most when I was in high school with FCA. People would say it after they had completed a game or event successfully. At the Edge, people would use it to encourage others to try an element or work through their fear. This is closer to the meaning, but not quite. When we read the verse, we hone in on the "can do all things" when the context of the rest of Paul's letter refers to something else. In the verse just before, Paul says he has learned to be content in any and every situation. A bold statement considering he was in prison at this time. And it is in light of this that the verse gets its true power. It is not the promise of being able to do great things that is big here (though God can work wonders through us if He so chooses). The strength in this verse is knowing that no matter what the circumstances, we still have Christ strengthening us, and so we can withstand it, can still be joyful, etc.
Like the previous time I talked about My least favorite verse, it is not that I hate or do not believe in the veracity of the verse, but dislike the way it is often mistakenly construed. I heard it the most when I was in high school with FCA. People would say it after they had completed a game or event successfully. At the Edge, people would use it to encourage others to try an element or work through their fear. This is closer to the meaning, but not quite. When we read the verse, we hone in on the "can do all things" when the context of the rest of Paul's letter refers to something else. In the verse just before, Paul says he has learned to be content in any and every situation. A bold statement considering he was in prison at this time. And it is in light of this that the verse gets its true power. It is not the promise of being able to do great things that is big here (though God can work wonders through us if He so chooses). The strength in this verse is knowing that no matter what the circumstances, we still have Christ strengthening us, and so we can withstand it, can still be joyful, etc.
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength..."
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