I can do all things

Isn’t it odd how Philippians 4:13 gets recast as “whatever I want to do, I can do”?

The section of Scripture in context is:

How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 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. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

When you read all of what Paul is saying, it’s very clear he doesn’t mean that whatever victory he chooses, he gets to live out. Rather, what he’s saying is: whatever situation God places him in, he can endure.

It’s even more odd that we recast 4:13, given that the epistle is written from prison, and talks about the “fellowship of sufferings.”